In addition to acting as the figurehead for K-12 education, the winner of the superintendent of public instruction race will have a voting seat on the Arizona Board of Regents. As a voting member, the superintendent will have a say in UA-related issues including tuition increases, employee raises and building projects.

Jay Blanchard
· Occupation: Professor at Arizona State University
· Education: University of Georgia, Ph.D.
· Party Affiliation: Democrat

Blanchard would go to the Legislature and fight to increase funding for state universities, but also use creative ways to raise money, he said.

One idea is prepaid tuition, Blanchard said. This is used in a number of states and locks in a tuition rate that permits parents to pay in advance for their child's tuition.

The idea also helps corporations that provide scholarships for students. The company can then plan ahead and set aside an exact amount of money for the scholarship, he said.

The idea benefits the universities by giving them money immediately, Blanchard said.

"We have a crisis in maintaining faculty and quality programs," he said. "Both cost money, and we have to find ways that can pay for both."

Blanchard is against the tuition increases.

"Arizona has been a model for other states, and now we need to keep it as low as possible so students can keep attending these universities," he said.

Blanchard supports the Changing Directions plan, which would allow the state university to pursue their own missions.

"Arizona has three very distinct universities and the idea is just a recognition of what has occurred naturally," he said.

Blanchard's key issues are protecting funding for K-12 education and accountability of schools.

Tom Horne
· Occupation: Lawyer
· Education: Harvard, BA, J.D.
· Party Affiliation: Republican

Horne would focus on the university level to restore funding for the schools, he said.

"When I was in the Legislature I fought for better funding for all education," Horne said. "So, I'm used to doing that."

Horne does not support raising tuition, but he is keeping his mind open, he said.

Although he said he doesn't yet know enough about the Changing Directions plan to decide if he supports it, Horne would work to raise the standard for Arizona high school students so they would be able to attend the UA if academic standards were increased.

The Department of Education focuses on bringing up students at the bottom and does not focus on stimulating the brightest and middle students, he said.

Horne's main issues are K-12 accountability, academic excellence and restoring discipline into the classroom.

He supports the Arizona Learns program, which implements state intervention when students at certain schools have continuously low test scores.

"I have one goal if elected," he said. "In four years, students should be learning more as shown by their test scores. Then I would have succeeded."

Horne has spent 24 years on the Paradise Valley School Board and four years on the Arizona Legislature as a Republican representative.

John Zajac
· Occupation: Director/producer television commercials/radio
· Education: Stanford University, B.S., M.S.
· Party Affiliation: Libertarian

Zajac said the biggest issue with university funding is how to maintain present levels of funding and work to increase them over time, while still trying to increase the quality of education for students.

Zajac supports a modest increase in tuition, he said.

There should be a major effort to increase sources of scholarship and financial aid, especially those based on merit, he said.

"All kinds of people come to UA and it's a bargain for them," he said. "Some of the people could afford to pay a little more and I would support a program like that."

The Changing Directions plan is a step in the right direction, Zajac said.

The UA is well known for its research, something professors should be able to concentrate on, he said.

In the short term, Zajac supports better assessment tests in K-12, he said.

"My viewpoint is that each school district needs to go back to the drawing board and have new tests," he said.

Long term, he supports school vouchers, a program that would enable students from low-income families to receive money and choose which school they wanted to attend. Zajac made a run for the U.S. House of Representatives in 1996 and the Senate in 1998.