John Huppenthal

Religious preference: Catholic.

Education: MBA, ASU, 1983; B.S., engineering, NAU, 1977.

Political experience: Chandler City Council 1984-92; AZ Senate 2005-10, 1993-00 (majority whip 2007-08); AZ House 2001-04.

Memberships have included: Chandler Chamber of Commerce; Chandler Historical Society; Friends of the Library; St. Timothy’s Angels.

Issues:

Political influence: Two people have influenced me significantly: 1) Benjamin Franklin because he realized that sound ideas were the foundation to the development of our nation and that a scientific approach was necessary to the furtherance of those ideas; and 2) on a more personal level, my high school wrestling coach, Jack Segerson, who took me, a poor kid from the south side of Tucson, under his wing. He opened my eyes to how a quality education can make a profound difference in a child’s life. Changes to duties: I view the Department of Education as a service agency devoted to supporting Arizona’s districts, schools, teachers, parents and students. It is essential that our state’s Department of Education perform the following roles: 1) Maintain a strong central core at the department for data processing; 2) streamline bureaucratic processes burdensome to teachers or parents; 3) help rural and disadvantaged districts gain economies of scale by pooling resources and realizing cost savings; 4) provide resources to the entire education community which guide them to best practices in increasing reading, math and science skills; 5) establish accurate accountability measures that hold districts, schools and teachers accountable for providing an excellent education to their students. My approach is bottom-up not top-down. I will work with districts to create a seamless transition from a K-12 learning environment to a community college, vocational institution or university.

Top priority: This legislative session I sponsored S1286, a “truth in advertising” bill designed to improve accountability at the district level. It labels schools’ academic performance and improvement on an easy-to-understand A- F scale. This system is based on the tremendously positive improvements to Florida’s educational system after implementing a clear and concise labeling system for their schools. By grading schools A through F and clearly defining what those grades meant, Florida significantly improved student academic gains because schools and teachers were given the necessary feedback on what to improve along with the resources and guidance to make the necessary improvements. School accountability measures that are transparent and which accurately reflect the quality of the education being delivered at each school, allows parents to be better informed about which schools will best meet the academic needs of their children. Accountability at all levels is critical—district, school, and classroom.

Failing schools: First, these schools must be properly identified. Second, parents need to be better informed about the relative performance of their child’s school. Third, we need to identify why these schools are underperforming and provide adequate resources to them so that they can address their challenges. Underperforming schools’ boards must be made aware of best practices and how they compare with the specific practices used in their schools. Subsequently, additional training and support should be provided to board members, teachers and parents. If attempts to support the failing schools are insufficient, personnel and administrative overhaul may be required, and parents should be informed of the school’s failure to meet acceptable standards and encouraged to seek an alternative education source.

Background & experience: I served as president of a school board and served for 18 years on the Senate and House Education committees, 10 of those years as Senate Education chairman. My education legislation moved Arizona to first in the nation in school choice, removed the caps from charter schools and brought performance pay to Arizona teachers. My goal has been to bring high academic standards and accountability back into our classrooms and create a disciplined, organized classroom emphasizing all students reading by third grade and the importance of math and science leading to high-paying jobs. I also take great pride in improving educational opportunities for autistic, blind and disabled students. As superintendent of public instruction, I will ensure every child learns to read and write English, using English-immersion classrooms. I am endorsed by education leaders like Maricopa County Superintendent of Schools Don Covey and conservatives like Sheriff Arpaio and Congressman Trent Franks.

Prop 100 sales tax: Education and economic opportunity go hand-in-hand. Increasing taxes during a recession is a dangerous proposition when it comes to education funding levels because raising taxes discourages consumer spending, thereby depressing economic recovery and job creation. That’s why I opposed the temporary sales tax increase proposition as it was structured. The real question is how we create long-term, sustainable funding sources for our education system while ensuring quality jobs await students upon graduation and without undermining the economy with burdensome taxation. We need a new economic relationship between schools, businesses and taxpayers. We need a healthy funding source that provides for every dollar of revenue provided to schools our education system produces two to five dollars of value for taxpayers, businesses and families in the way of creative capital, jobs and economic opportunities.

Campaign finance: public.