Following Gov. Brad Little’s State of the State address Monday, new Superintendent of Public Instruction Debbie Critchfield said she’s pleased with the governor’s continued focus on education.

Following Sherri Ybarra’s service from 2019-2022, Critchfield defeated Ybarra and Branden Durst in May’s Republican primary before easily dispatching Democrat Terry Gilbert in November’s general election. She was sworn into office on Friday.

“I’m appreciative of Governor Little’s continued commitment to public education, and I look forward to partnering with him and legislators on developing an education budget that delivers for Idaho’s students, parents, educators and schools,” Critchfield said in a Monday news release.

The release said that the specifics of Critchfield’s support lie in Little’s proposal that a portion of the $330 million in new education funding will go toward “paying for school support staff, as well as being fully aligned in making the Empowering Parents program permanent and focusing additional resources on school safety.”

Critchfield said in the release that she shares in the governor’s vision for continuing to make teacher pay more competitive with that of neighboring states.

“Additionally, my top priority for the new education funding is creating more Career and Technical Education opportunities that will help level the playing field between Idaho’s rural and larger school districts,” Critchfield said in the release.

Critchfield seconded Little’s statements on career and technical options and said, “… Idaho parents and families have incredible opportunities for selecting the best education option for their students, with the least number of restrictions. One of my priorities for the State Department of Education is to better connect parents with these available resources and opportunities specific to their child.”

In addition to her emphasis on career readiness, Critchfield said she’s also focused on supporting skills across K-12 education, including early literacy, grades 5-8 math, financial literacy and dyslexia support.