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Idaho schools superintendent race: Two Democrats square off

Democrats Allen Humble and Cindy Wilson are running for Superintendent of Public Instruction.

BOISE - Four candidates are squaring off for Idaho's top education position.

Wednesday, we profiled Republican candidates Jeff Dillon and incumbent Superintendent Sherri Ybarra.

Thursday, KTVB sits down with Democrat candidates Allen Humble and Cindy Wilson.

Cindy Wilson, a teacher at Capital High, has worked in education for more than 30 years.

If elected, Wilson says she wants to raise the bar for Idaho schools.

"Specifically, my platform consists of what I call CAPE. C stands for more opportunity for civic education. A is for access to equal opportunities throughout the state, whether you’re in a rural community or an urban community, we should have the same access for all students. P is for partnership between our community leaders and schools. Our students need to be prepared through early childhood education," says Wilson.

Allen Humble, now retired, previously worked in hospital management.

Humble says his background outside of the classroom will bring fresh ideas to Idaho's education sector.

"Nobody has talked about a shift in capitalizing school projects from a property tax basis to state income tax basis, no one has done that. And no one else has talked about a financial reserve for down economic years, no one is talking about that either," says Humble.

Humble is also for a statewide pre-K program, competitive teacher salaries and improvements in school safety.

"I don't favor teachers being armed, I don't favor one of your students being able to go to his truck and to retrieve his hunting rifle to protect you, you can’t throw rocks you can’t throw canned goods at them. I do think the superintendent should have a public statement asking the legislature to prohibit the sale of war weapons," says Humble.

Student safety is also a concern for Wilson.

If elected to the state's top education position, she hopes to fix Idaho's teacher shortage.

"I am so concerned by the fact that we have a teacher shortage on our hands here in Idaho. so how are we going to create the best teachers possible? We need to raise the teaching profession to the level it should be, treat our teachers like professionals," says Wilson.

Wilson and Humble will square off May 15 in the Democratic primary.

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