Kimberly Yee outlines education priorities after GOP primary win

Kimberly Yee won the Republican nomination for Arizona’s next superintendent of public instruction Tuesday and will face Democratic candidate Teresa Leyba Ruiz in the November general election.

Yee told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s The Mike Broomhead Show Friday that Arizona’s school choice options are extensive, but she is taking a different approach when it comes to the upcoming election.

“We have those choices and they’re all awesome. But what we want to really focus on is the academics: reading, traditional mathematics, teaching kids how to learn to read based on phonics-based instruction,” she said.

Yee said Arizona has requirements surrounding the use of phonics in literacy learning, but Arizona students are still behind, with only 36% of third-graders reading at grade level.

Kimberly Yee says transparency in school funding is critical

Yee, who currently serves as the state treasurer, said schools also need to increase transparency when it comes to school funding.

“We need to have more accountability when it comes from the school administration level to the classroom, but more so to that parent who wants to know, where are my dollars going? And how are they being used effectively?” she said.

Yee said the classrooms themselves need to have increased funding as well, suggesting taking away some funding from school administrators to put into the classrooms.

“Teachers need to have the tools in the classroom. They should not be going to our garage sale to get their basic supplies. This is something we should provide to them,” she said.

The general election will be held on Nov. 3.

Funding for this journalism is made possible by the Arizona Local News Foundation.

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