Race on to replace Howard
BOISE – Four longtime educators and a businessman who says he was the first in his family to graduate either from high school or college are vying to be Idaho’s top education official.
With current state Superintendent of Public Instruction Marilyn Howard, a Democrat, retiring after two terms, the top education job is open, and has drawn contested races in both the Republican and Democratic primary elections.
On the Republican side, Caldwell businessman Tom Luna is making his second bid for the office, after losing to Howard four years ago. Vying with Luna are longtime Coeur d’Alene High School Principal Steve Casey, and longtime Boise teacher and state legislator Steve Smylie.
In the Democratic primary, Howard’s chief deputy superintendent, Jana Jones, is facing off with Bert Marley, a longtime eastern Idaho teacher and state legislator who’s served in both the House and Senate.
Each of the candidates claims to be the most qualified for the job – Smylie and Marley because they’re both longtime teachers and state legislators; Casey because of his 33 years as a teacher, administrator and coach; Jones because of her familiarity with the job and readiness to step in as the current chief deputy; and Luna because of his service on his local school board, on two state education commissions and as an adviser to former U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige.
Luna said, “I think I have a broader background in education than they do, having served at the local, state and federal level, and also a significant business background.”
Jones, the only candidate of the five who holds a doctorate in education, said, “What really distinguishes me is my background and my experience.” As a former owner of a private preschool and having worked in the state Department of Education for the past 18 years, Jones said, “I do have a full understanding right now of what it takes, and could step into the job day one and make it work.”
Casey, who has been at Coeur d’Alene High for the past 17 years, said while the other candidates have been talking about programs like the federal No Child Left Behind Act and the Idaho Standards Achievement Test, he’s been implementing them in his school. That direct experience has given him perspective, he said.
For example, he said, “I believe there’s more positive in NCLB than there is negative. We’ve aligned our curriculum, we’re tracking the standards, we can diagnose where our students are in terms of their strengths and weaknesses.” Some adjustments would make the program work better for subgroups of students like those struggling with English, he said.
Marley said as a classroom teacher who’s also worked on education funding issues in the Legislature, including serving on the budget-setting Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee, he’s learned how to form coalitions across party lines. “I think it gives me a unique view of what it’s going to take to propel education policies forward,” he said.
Smylie, the son of the late former Gov. Bob Smylie, said he learned from his father the importance of listening to all sides before proposing major policy changes. That’s led him to work with others in the Legislature and to compromise. “I don’t really like to grab headlines,” he said. “You can get a lot done if it doesn’t matter who gets credit for it, and my style has always been to work quietly.”
Four of the five candidates say a better relationship between the appointed state Board of Education and the elected state superintendent – who have been at odds throughout Howard’s two terms as the board has sought to take over functions previously handled through Howard’s office – is essential for education in Idaho.
“We obviously have a serious problem,” said Marley. “There’s something intuitively wrong with a system that will allow an appointed board to control the actions of an elected statewide official through their policy-making.”
Luna sees no problem, saying he knows the state board members and many are supporting his campaign.
“I get along very good with the state board,” he said.