In their closing comments at today’s City Club of Boise debate, the candidates, Democrat Jana Jones and Republican Sherri Ybarra each said they’re the leader Idaho’s schools need. “You know we only get one chance to educate our kids and we owe it to them to get it right the first time,” Jones said. “This isn’t a Democratic value, it’s not a Republican value. Education should be and it is a strong Idaho value. I believe very deeply in the greatness of Idaho, having been born and raised here, educated here, I know this is the best place in the country to live. And I believe we can rebuild an education system that’s worthy of it.” She added, “The next superintendent has a lot of work to do. Vital programs have been cut, budgets have been cut, classrooms are overcrowded, local control has been lost.” She said, “We need to get moving forward. … I pledge to you today that I will always be the advocate for our kids and our schools, that I will trust our communities to make the best decisions ... and I will provide the kind of leadership that is inclusive, transparent, accountable and most importantly, leadership that you can trust.”

Ybarra kept her closing comments shorter. “You really do have a stark difference in choices in candidates for this position,” she said. “I will be the candidate who is the conservative leader, who will be a tireless advocate for our children, over 250,000 in grades K-12 to always focus on adequate funding and a vision for the future. I have the energy level and the enthusiasm and the skill set. I am in the prime of my career and I want to help you build an excellent education system for our kids.”