How will the candidates for Governor improve Arizona education?

Candidates running for Arizona Governor were invited to be interviewed as a part of this project. Candidates were each asked five questions about education in Arizona based on priorities that Arizona voters shared as a part of a recent survey of Arizona voters. Each candidate was given up to 1.5 minutes to respond to each question and received the questions ahead of time. Their responses are included below in full and have not been edited. Candidates are listed in alphabetical order. If a candidate was not able to attend, they were given the option to provide a written response. This project is led by Education Forward Arizona and is a nonpartisan voter education effort.

See the candidates’ priorities on:

Teachers & Leaders

How will you ensure that every Arizona school has quality teachers and school leaders? This is especially important for low-income, rural, Tribal communities, and communities of color.

Katie Hobbs

  • Education is, and always has been, a huge priority of mine throughout my career as a public servant. With an ongoing crisis of massive teacher shortages, I know that we should be increasing resources for schools and teachers, not taking them away. Currently, the salary for Arizona teachers is significantly below the national average. Teachers are leaving schools because they can’t afford to make ends meet, and our children are suffering because of it. That’s why, as part of my A Prepared Arizona education plan, I will raise teacher salaries by an average $14,000 and provide better benefits for teachers, including access to quality, affordable health care.

    I will also invest in creating more professional development and mentorship opportunities for current and future teachers, so that they get the training necessary to provide students with the best education possible. By investing in these programs, we can recruit and train a new generation of teachers who are prepared for the classroom, and build a network of support and community among educators.

    In addition, I support lifting the Aggregate Expenditure Limit (AEL) — which could cut $1.3 billion in already allocated funding for this school year — to ensure that we’re strengthening our education system. When teachers do not get the resources they need, students suffer. These funds have already been allocated by our lawmakers, so we need to make sure that schools get the money they were promised.

Kari Lake

Education Funding

What will you do to address funding for education, including early education, K-12, community colleges, and universities?

Katie Hobbs

  • Too often, our state government has passed the buck and allowed our public schools to go underfunded. The situation is so dire that in 2017, Arizona school districts were forced to sue the state so that they could get the funding they needed to repair school buildings. That’s why I support fully funding school building repairs and maintenance, but that is only the start of our challenges.

    The Aggregate Expenditure Limit is preventing our schools from getting the funding they were already promised by state lawmakers. Without having access to the full funding amount, schools are forced to make difficult decisions of whether or not to invest in student education programs or cut educator positions to stay open. This standard is unacceptable, and puts our children’s education — and futures — at risk. What’s more, Kari Lake and her fellow extreme lawmakers want to worsen our education crisis even further by defunding public schools and enforcing out-of-touch, out-of-state curriculums that don’t meet Arizona students’ needs. She is willfully compromising Arizona students’ futures to play to her MAGA base.

    Financial challenges don’t end once students leave high school and no student should be left behind because of financial circumstances. Our state constitution provides Arizonans with the right to receive an education that is “as nearly free as possible.” I will work to increase and provide consistent funding for in-state universities and community colleges, similar to the way we fund our K-12 system. This will help lower tuition costs and make colleges and universities more accessible to anyone who would like to attend. I’ll also create a refundable tax credit to lower the costs for career and technical education, so that any Arizona student can choose the career path that’s best for them. When it comes to our childrens’ futures, I will never play politics and will always make sure they have the resources they need to thrive.

Kari Lake

Early Education

How will you make sure every child in Arizona has the opportunity for quality early childhood education? Specifically, would you support greater pre-K options and full-day Kindergarten, especially for low-income families and those that don’t have access?

Katie Hobbs

  • As a mother, I know how challenging it can be to juggle working to support your family and making sure your children get the best education and care possible. Providing voluntary, full-day, universal pre-K and kindergarten will provide immense relief to Arizona’s working-class families, who often have to choose between putting food on the table or paying for daily childcare. Expanding universal pre-K and kindergarten isn’t just good for Arizona children and families — it’s also good for Arizona’s workforce. With universal pre-K and kindergarten, parents will be able to use those savings to raise their children and focus on supporting their families without having to decide between working or struggling to find child care, or worrying about whether or not their child is receiving quality education and care during the day.

    When it comes to funding, I will make sure that the money working Arizonans are paying in taxes will go to classrooms — not corporations. In addition, I’ll re-engage with the federal government to win back federal preschool funding grants. I will use this overdue support from Washington to help support further investment in programs such as First Things First and school districts in communities of need, so they can offer full-day kindergarten without charging tuition to Arizona’s working families.

    My Prepared Arizona plan will put more money in the pockets of Arizona families who need it most while investing in children’s futures from an early age. Building on the progress made by First Things First, I will make sure that Arizona is on a course to phase in universal preschool. I’ll also ensure that we’re prioritizing communities who are most in need, such as communities of color, low income communities, and folks living in rural areas. Through these efforts, Arizona can build the pipeline of preschool educators, work with legislators to ensure permanent ongoing funding, and study outcomes as the program expands.

Kari Lake

Student Success

The pandemic affected so many students with the greatest impact felt by students of color. What can be done to make sure more students are reading and doing math at grade level?

Katie Hobbs

  • Arizona has a rapidly growing STEM sector that requires students to learn math science and technology at an advanced rate. I will prioritize and invest in expanding the pipeline of diverse STEM educators to train our future workforce. Also, by expanding AP classes and incentivizing school districts with STEM scholarships and grants, we can better prepare students for the increasing amount of well-paying STEM jobs available in Arizona.

    Additionally, I will ensure we better address growing classroom sizes and better equip public schools. Expanding career-building and mentorship resources will better prepare the next generation of teachers to educate our students. I will expand resources for school counselors and mentorship programs so that students are not only supported academically, but also mentally and emotionally. Students will be able to get the attention they need in and out of the classroom, while teachers and faculty will be able to identify problems students may be facing and better help them learn.

Kari Lake

Higher Education

How will you help more Arizonans earn a degree or postsecondary credential in order to meet Arizona’s goal of reaching 60% education attainment by 2030? Additionally, what is your position on providing more state financial aid to help more students earn a college degree or credential, which is important for low-income students and students of color?

Katie Hobbs

  • There’s no doubt that we need to increase educational attainment among low-income communities, by strengthening programs that re-engages Arizona students. Already, we’ve seen Arizona fall behind on achieving educational attainment goals. These communities rarely get the resources they need, and also face significant economic and social barriers to getting a quality, affordable education. By lowering costs we can improve access to universities, community colleges, and trade schools, and I’ll prioritize investments to create more teachers, nurses, and doctors so we can address career fields where we have a huge gap to fill. And we can do this while increasing educational opportunities for students from diverse backgrounds. This investment will in turn allow advancement for future generations of underserved communities and further uplift working-class families.

    And I will make it easier for students to learn about and earn college credit by expanding dual and concurrent enrollment programs. I will also establish a tuition reimbursement program for Arizonans already in the workforce, using an employer tax credit that would help pay for their employees to continue their education and complete a degree or professional certificate.

Kari Lake

Ed Voters Arizona is a project of Education Forward Arizona. As a 501(c)3 organization, Education Forward Arizona does not endorse candidates or influence the outcome of candidate elections.