In their first debate last night in Twin Falls, state school superintendent candidates Jana Jones and Sherri Ybarra took mostly similar positions on issues, but diverged on the 20 recommendations from a state task force for improving schools and clashed on whose background better fits the job, Idaho Education News reports.

Asked to prioritize the recommendations, Ybarra said her top priorities were reading proficiency, professional development on the Idaho Core Standards and accountability systems. “These are the easiest to implement and get down to the classrooms.” Jones said her No. 1 priority is to restore the investment in the public schools system. “Over this last year we’ve lost so many good teachers. We need to take a good look at what we can do to recruit and retain high quality teachers.”

Idaho EdNews reporter Jennifer Swindell has a full report here; Twin Falls Times-News reporter Nathan Brown has a full report here. The two candidates debate again Thursday in Caldwell and Friday in Boise. Tuesday night’s debate was sponsored by the Times-News and KMVT; they are holding a gubernatorial debate tonight in Twin Falls between A.J. Balukoff and John Bujak.