Ruiz pushes back on Yee’s claims about Arizona schools

By Stacy Mantle
Mail

Arizona’s two candidates for superintendent of public instruction are offering sharply different ideas of what is holding the state’s schools back and what the next superintendent should do about it.

Republican Kimberly Yee delivered a roughly 10-minute speech during an Aug. 17 campaign event hosted by the Republican Legislative District 3 Committee in Scottsdale. The event featured Republican candidates for statewide and legislative offices, including gubernatorial candidate Andy Biggs and attorney general candidate Warren Petersen.

While the candidates did not appear together, Yee outlined her positions by calling for a return to phonics, traditional math, vocational education and conservative leadership on school boards.

Democrat candidate Dr. Terry Leyba Ruiz later responded through a campaign press release, saying schools need greater investment, stronger support for educators and less political rhetoric aimed at teachers and students.

The exchange provides an early look at the divide likely to shape the Nov. 3 general election for the office now held by Republican Tom Horne.

Yee, Arizona’s state treasurer, defeated Horne in the Republican primary. Ruiz, a former Glendale Community College president with 35 years in education, won the Democratic nomination.

Competing priorities for Arizona schools

Yee told the Republican audience she wants schools to concentrate on foundational academics, including phonics-based reading instruction and math taught without an early reliance on calculators.

Yee also advocated for restoring or expanding home economics, shop classes and career and technical education. Students who do not plan to attend college, she said, should have opportunities to graduate from high school with an industry certification and a pathway into the workforce.

“We need to have someone who will go back to the basics,” Yee said.

Arizona students continue to struggle academically. On the state’s 2025 Arizona Academic Standards Assessment, approximately 41% of students in grades 3-8 were proficient in English language arts and only 34% were proficient in math. The results were nearly unchanged from 2022 and remained below pre-pandemic levels, according to ADE data.

Ruiz has also called for expanded career and technical education, dual enrollment and early learning opportunities. However, her campaign places greater emphasis on increasing public school funding and addressing Arizona’s teacher shortage.

In her response to Yee’s speech, Ruiz said educators need greater respect and access to the resources required to do their jobs.

“Teachers don’t need more political attacks from career politicians who aren’t listening to them,” Ruiz said. “They need respect, resources and a superintendent who understands what is actually happening in their classrooms.”

Ruiz has proposed advocating for additional public school funding at the Legislature, strengthening educator recruitment and retention and expanding early literacy and universal prekindergarten opportunities.

School choice remains central

Yee also presented herself as a defender of Arizona’s school-choice system, including district, charter, private and home schools.

She cited her role as a sponsor of Arizona’s original Empowerment Scholarship Account legislation in 2011. The program initially was limited to certain groups of students, including children with disabilities, but lawmakers expanded eligibility to all Arizona students in 2022.

More than 100,000 students are now enrolled in the ESA program.

Yee said parents, rather than government, should decide which educational setting works best for their children. She has also criticized efforts to release identifying information involving ESA participants and vendors.

Ruiz supports placing additional limits and accountability measures on the universal ESA program. Her campaign argues the program’s growth has redirected more than $1 billion annually from resources that could otherwise support public education.

Culture-war claims enter race

Much of the latter portion of Yee’s speech shifted from academic policy to what she described as “woke” ideology in schools and universities.

Yee referenced a former Washington Elementary School District board member who allegedly wore cat ears and claimed the district purchased litter boxes with taxpayer money for students who identified as cats.

Then-board member Tamillia Valenzuela wore cat ears during meetings and said Arizona Christian University’s traditional positions on sexuality and marriage could make LGBTQ students and staff feel unsafe.

The Washington Elementary controversy did include a separate dispute involving Arizona Christian University. In 2023, the district governing board voted not to renew an agreement that placed ACU student teachers in district schools. The university sued and the parties later reached a settlement restoring the relationship.

Litterboxes and pronouns

Yee did not offer evidence supporting the litter-box claim during the speech. Similar allegations that schools provide litter boxes for students who identify as animals have circulated nationally for years and have repeatedly been found to be unsupported.

Yee also accused Ruiz of supporting the introduction of pronouns to children as young as 5, although she did not identify a specific Ruiz proposal or statement.

Ruiz characterized the remarks as distractions from the measurable problems confronting Arizona schools.

“Arizona is facing a teacher shortage crisis, and people like my opponent are a major contributing factor,” Ruiz said.

Role extends beyond K-12 schools

The next superintendent will oversee the Arizona Department of Education and help administer programs serving district and charter schools. The superintendent also sits on the State Board of Education and serves as an ex-officio voting member of the Arizona Board of Regents, which governs Arizona State University, Northern Arizona University and the University of Arizona.

Yee told supporters she would use the regents position to challenge what she considers ideological instruction within university schools of education. She closed her remarks with a fundraising pitch centered on the union member status of Ruiz and her husband, retired Peoria Fire Chief and first responder of 47 years, Bobby Ruiz.

Ruiz says the office should instead rebuild trust with educators and concentrate state resources on teacher retention, student achievement and equitable access to educational opportunities.

The general election will determine which approach Arizona takes: Yee’s focus on school choice, traditional academics and opposition to progressive education policies, or Ruiz’s emphasis on educator support, public-school investment and limiting political conflict in classrooms.

Editor’s note:  A grant from the Arizona Local News Foundation made this story possible. The foundation awarded 15 newsrooms to pay for solutions-focused education reporters for two years. Please submit comments at yourvalley.net/letters or email them to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines.

Stacy Mantle
Education Solutions Reporter

smantle@iniusa.org

Meet Stacy
Stacy Mantle is joining the team at Independent Newsmedia, Inc. as an Education Solutions journalist, thanks to a grant from the Arizona Community Collaborative. She has a long history in education that ranges from teaching junior high and middle school to developing curriculum and standards-based assessments.

Community: A longtime advocate for animal welfare, Stacy is deeply involved in rescue efforts and volunteers with several nonprofit organizations.

Random Fact: Once upon a time, she shared her home with a pet coyote and two wolf hybrids. The experiences were wild enough to become the subject of her first book!

Education: She holds a BA in English with a minor in Political Science, a Post-baccalaureate in Secondary Education, and an MBA with a emphasis on Marketing.

Hobbies: In her spare time, Stacy writes fast-paced urban fantasy novels, crafts small-batch artisan soap, and is always up for hiking or off-roading through the Arizona wilderness with her husband of 23 years.