Sherri Ybarra
A candidate for Superintendent of Public Instruction, State of Idaho in the 2014 Nov. 4 Idaho General Election
Party: Republican
City: Mountain Home, Idaho
Occupation: Mountain Home School District school administrator
Curriculum director and federal programs director for the Mountain Home School District. She has a master’s and is working toward a doctorate in education. Ybarra taught school in Mountain Home for 11 years before becoming a vice principal and then a principal; she’s in her second year in her current administrative position with the district. Has struggled with a series of gaffes during the campaign, from a campaign website that copied Jones’ to mistakenly identifying a former primary rival as a backer; she says she’s “not a polished politician.”
Contact information
- Web: ybarraforidaho.com
Race Results
| Candidate | Votes | Pct |
|---|---|---|
| Sherri Ybarra (R) | 216,961 | 50.67% |
| Jana Jones (D) | 211,246 | 49.33% |
Related Coverage
Otter retains office; Ybarra holds slim lead
BOISE – Idaho GOP Gov. Butch Otter won a rare third term Tuesday over Democratic challenger A.J. Balukoff after a hard-fought race, while the race for state superintendent of schools was too close to call at press time. First-time Republican candidate Sherri Ybarra narrowly led Democrat Jana Jones, a former chief deputy state superintendent, in early returns in the superintendent’s race, the state’s closest race.
Huckleberries: Gone too soon and already dearly missed
Patrick Jacobs, Coeur d’Alene’s unofficial king of food, fashion and fun who died too young last Sunday, was a huge fan of former Coeur d’Alene Mayor Sandi Bloem. Her Sandiness, longtime owner of Johannes Jewelry in downtown Coeur d’Alene, was known for rocking outfits and bling while presiding over Coeur d’Alene City Council meetings and riding as a passenger on the back of a Harley-Davidson at the city’s Fourth of July Parade. I dug this mini-review of Sandi’s stylish taste by Patrick after a council meeting in February 2007: “One thing is for sure: Sandi Bloem is a hard-core fashionista. Did anybody catch her outfit at the 2/20 City Council meeting? I tuned into red-hot CDA Channel 19, and my jaw dropped when I saw her squeezed delicately into a shiny plastic grey-and-black leopard print jacket and wearing her usual amount of bling. Her trademark salt-and-pepper upswept hairdo was 10x more vicious than usual. She must have decided to go with an extra-fierce look for the evening since she had to charm everybody into helping her sneak that little $3 million Kroc doo-dad through the system.” The Kroc Center, of course, is a smashing success. And Patrick’s observations about life and personalities in Coeur d’Alene are already sorely missed. Strike two
Ybarra’s education awards questioned
BOISE – Just one week from the election, revelations continue to emerge about a little-known educator who was the surprise winner of Idaho’s Republican primary for state schools superintendent, this time focusing on her claim to be a two-time “Educator of the Year.” Sherri Ybarra lists among her educational accomplishments “Educator of the Year 2005” and “Educator of the Year 2006.” But Idaho doesn’t have an Educator of the Year, nor has she been named Teacher of the Year, an honor that’s been bestowed annually in the state since 1959. She wasn’t even Mountain Home School District’s nominee for that state competition.
Smart Bombs: Idaho voters face Ybarra test
When Idaho schools superintendent candidate Sherri Ybarra was asked why she omitted a divorce from her personal history, she told the Idaho Statesman, “My brain doesn’t operate in the past.” It isn’t humming on all cylinders in the present either.