Here’s a link to my full, updated story at spokesman.com on today’s news about state Superintendent of Public Instruction candidate Sherri Ybarra, who claimed for months that she expected to get a doctorate in education in August, giving her a top educational credential when she’d take office, if she’s elected in November. But in August, Ybarra had only been enrolled in the doctoral program at the University of Idaho for one semester. That month, she received an educational specialist degree, not a doctorate.

Ybarra’s campaign spokeswoman, Melinda Nothern, said there was no intentional misrepresentation. “She’s been working toward this for a long time,” Nothern said. Nothern said Ybarra decided to apply some of her credits toward the lesser degree in August, and keep working toward the doctorate. “She changed her mind,” Nothern said.

Jana Jones, Ybarra’s opponent in the election, who earned her doctorate in education at Idaho State University in 2001, said there’s “no way” to earn a doctorate in education in a single semester. She said, “I was working full-time, so it was supposed to be five years and it ended up being six.”