Statesman endorses candidate in Idaho superintendent of public instruction race

In what was perhaps its most difficult decision of the primary season, the Idaho Statesman’s editorial board decided to endorse Debbie Critchfield over incumbent Sherri Ybarra.

Both Ybarra and Critchfield support sound education policy. Both aim to increase the emphasis of Idaho’s education system on career readiness, and on subjects needed by the next generation of Idaho employers. Both have long experience in Idaho’s education system.

Branden Durst said he was not able to attend his scheduled interview, then did not respond to a request for an alternative date that would work for him. The Statesman does not endorse candidates who don’t interview with the editorial board. Even if he had, Durst’s public behavior shows he lacks the experience, qualifications, commitment and demeanor required to lead Idaho schools.

It is worth noting how much Ybarra has improved since she won the Republican nomination in 2014, as an unlikely dark-horse candidate that few had heard of.

Though Ybarra has grown considerably in competence and policy understanding since she was first elected, after speaking with both serious candidates, we give the edge to Critchfield.

True, Ybarra is the only candidate in the race who is a certified teacher. That experience has value. But Critchfield’s prior experience leading the State Board of Education gives her a background and experience comparable to Ybarra’s.

Critchfield is smart, highly motivated and has a depth of policy experience in public education. She could make tremendous strides in improving an education system that is not performing as well as Idaho’s children deserve.

Ybarra has had a tendency to oversell the success of Idaho’s schools using statistics that are not well supported. Fixing Idaho’s education system will require a clear, unvarnished view of how big the problems it faces truly are.

Ybarra has increased her engagement with the Legislature since she first took office, but we believe Critchfield would be more effective.

Critchfield has a reputation for her ability to build relationships. That’s key in the superintendent’s position because the bulk of education policy is under the control of the Legislature. Well over two-dozen sitting lawmakers, along with several past lawmakers, have endorsed Critchfield’s candidacy. So have other important figures in Idaho education circles.

Beyond working with lawmakers, we think Critchfield will be effective in using the bully pulpit offered by the superintendent’s office, something Ybarra has not always done effectively.

We encourage Critchfield, if elected, to use that pulpit to defend teachers from being used as a political football, as they have in recent legislative sessions. Critical race theory, socialism in the classroom and porn in libraries are at best figments of the far right’s fevered imagination, at worst intentionally manufactured propaganda aimed at attacking the existence of public schools.

As Rod Gramer of Idaho Business for Education noted last week, these issues have been created from whole cloth by national political activists aiming to destroy the public education system across the country.

Teachers need someone in high office to push back, to say clearly that some lawmakers are dishonestly maligning people who practice a noble profession.

The only significant concern with Critchfield is her expressed openness to a voucher program, though that openness is heavily tempered. She said it’s a policy she could support, though its impact on public schools would have to be studied closely. That’s not our position on the issue, but it’s one we can understand.

Teachers should be assured that the superintendent will have their back when the Legislature decides to manufacture a crisis and come after them.