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Candidates for Schools Chief Clash in Sole Debate of the Campaign

Capitol Media Services photo by Howard Fischer

On Thursday night, the Republican contender for state schools chief said voters should choose her to protect education from academicians and federal bureaucrats. Arizona Public Radio’s Howard Fischer reports.

In the only head-to-head debate of the campaign, Diane Douglas emphasized her theme of wanting to scrap the Common Core academic standards, which she said were foisted on parents without public input.

“The issue of this debate, of this election, is who controls the education of our children. Is it the Washington insiders and the special interests of corporate America? Or is it the parents of Arizona, the parents all across the nation who have the first and foremost say in the education of their children?” Douglas said.

Also, Douglas said during the televised debate that education in Arizona has been turned into a program designed predominantly to train children for jobs. She said that sends them the message that their only goal in life is “to become worker bees.”

But, Democrat David Garcia said doing what Douglas wants would leave Arizona with what he called insular standards that do not ensure that students here learn what is being taught elsewhere — and ensure they have the skills they need to support themselves.

“The reality is, our students need to be ready to compete outside of Arizona. And Arizona businesses need workers that are going to attract business from other states in order to invest in Arizona,” Garcia said.

Garcia also dismissed the idea that all parents oppose Common Core, saying he’s a parent too and he wants his daughters to be academically prepared.

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