Does educator Hoffman have the resume to lead schools?
This year’s state superintendent of public instruction candidates are a study in contrasts.
Democrat Kathy Hoffman, 32, is a speech therapist who emphasizes her six years of experience in the classroom.
Republican Frank Riggs is 68, with a stint in the U.S. House of Representatives under his belt and more than a decade as a charter-school development executive.
Some, including Riggs, have questioned whether Hoffman has the background to take on such a job.
Arizona is one of just a handful of states that select their superintendent through an election, according to the Education Commission of the States. In the vast majority of other states, the post is either appointed by the governor or the state board of education. Many state superintendents, unlike in Arizona, don’t take political sides.
Once the victorious candidate assumes the role of superintendent in Arizona, they inherit one of the state’s most complex agencies, a large department tasked with educating a staggering 1.1 million students.
Hoffman told The Arizona Republic that she’s preparing for the job by meeting with current education stakeholders such as teachers, superintendents, parents and Arizona Department of Education employees.
“I think we need to get away from a teacher not being qualified for superintendent and talk about the real issue here. We’ve been missing the voice of a teacher,” she said during a Republic debate on Wednesday.
What does a state superintendent do?
It’s a largely administrative gig. Superintendents don’t set policy as much as they shape it.
Under Arizona law, a state superintendent is tasked with the broad power of managing the state’s schools by directing the state Department of Education. They are charged with doling out $6 billion in funding to the state’s district and charter schools, according to the Department of Education.
The superintendent also has a voting seat on the State Board of Education, which helps set policies dictated by the state Legislature. They have a seat on other education boards, too, including the state charter board and the Arizona Board of Regents.
What experience does Hoffman have?
Hoffman is a political newcomer who has spent most of her career working as a speech therapist in Arizona school districts. She said she was inspired to run while watching U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’ confirmation.
“I saw a lot of parallels between Betsy DeVos and Diane Douglas in the sense that they’re leading our public schools with no experience in the classroom,” she said.
She spent two years as a speech therapist with the Peoria Unified School District and three in the Vail School District near Tucson.
Hoffman is fluent in both Japanese and Spanish. She majored in Japanese and minored in Spanish at the University of Oregon, graduating in 2009, according to her resume. Before getting her master’s degree in speech pathology from the University of Arizona, she taught preschool for two years.
“Part of my job was and always has been finding alternate communication systems for kids that, because of their neurological problems, can’t say words,” she said.
At Peoria, that meant working with small groups of children in her classroom, she said.
If chosen as superintendent, Hoffman said her experience teaching will help bring others to the table.
What experience comes in handy?
Republican John Huppenthal, superintendent from 2011 to 2015, said the less political and more administrative duties often made the most impact. He remembered a conversation with a superintendent in Yarnell who praised him for cutting down the time it took to complete a certain report from three weeks to 45 minutes.
“Properly done, there’s not much ideology there,” he said. “Occasionally, you come across a decision in which your philosophy and ideology can play a big role.”
For the most part, Huppenthal said it’s important for a superintendent to bring in “really good leaders and managers,” creating a positive work ethic and morale.
“There’s just going to be challenges coming at them from every different direction,” he said.
Jaime Molera, appointed superintendent in 2001, said a successful schools leader needs to have a deep understanding of education policy paired with the ability to communicate.
Molera, a Republican, said in assessing the two candidates, it didn’t seem like Hoffman had a lot of depth in policy.
Riggs, he said, has a leg up with his experience as a national lawmaker.
“A lot of the role of the superintendent is to use the bully pulpit. They don’t have a lot of inherent authority because you’re really trying to influence the state Legislature,” he said.
Republican Tom Horne, superintendent from 2003 to 2010, said the job calls for someone studious, who can get up to speed on issues quickly. Good people skills help.
But training for the job itself?
“I don’t know if you can train for that,” Horne said. Arizona has had only two Democratic superintendents since 1967.
Former Democratic Superintendent Carolyn Warner died this week.