The superintendent of public instruction in Arizona should be someone who not only views education as something that should be preserved, but as a priority moving forward. Penny Kotterman does just that, whereas John Huppenthal has voted repeatedly to cut education without raising serious complaint to what was happening despite holding an influential policy position as the chair of the Senate Education Accountability and Reform Committee.

Arizona needs a superintendent who will view education as a resource that needs to be cultivated, not simply red ink on a budget that must be reduced no matter the ramifications. It is also troubling that Huppenthal has elected to support both the ban on the teaching of ethnic studies and more stringent, and unreasonable, limits on sexual education in public schools. This combination of apathy toward funding and overreaches into curriculum display, at the least a fundamental misunderstanding of the role public education must play and at the most partisan loyalties that run too deep to set aside in order to make choices that are truly in the best interest of the state’s education system.

As a professional in the education field, Kotterman has displayed a commitment to education that is virtually unmatched among candidates running for state office this year. In a survey released by the Arizona Education Network, Kotterman expressed her desire to recover all the funds that were cut from education by the Arizona Legislature in a way that best identifies the needs of those who rely on public education system.

Kotterman has also publicly advocated for increased funding for K-12 education, and to amend Arizona’s Constitution to increase mandatory levels of funding. Whether she can actually accomplish such lofty goals remains to be seen, but, by our reckoning, she should be given the opportunity to try. For these reasons, Kotterman is the best choice.

— Heather Price-Wright recused herself from the endorsement for state superintendent of public instruction.