Arizona school vouchers: Ruiz and Yee present competing plans | FOX 10 Phoenix

Another major race on the ballot, the battle over Arizona's classrooms. Taking a look at the two candidates for Superintendent of Public Instruction, State Treasurer Republican Kimberly Yee, facing off with an educator of 35 years, Democrat Teresa Ruiz. Fox 10's Megan Spector is tracking that race for us tonight and is This race has heavily centered on Arizona school voucher program live with more. and how public education should be funded. Democratic candidate Teresa Ruiz is campaigning on stricter oversight Megan. and transparency for the ESA voucher program, pointing to concerns of fraud and unchecked spending. Ruiz says Arizona needs stronger state guardrails and mandatory external audits to ensure every tax dollar is actually directed towards educational needs. On the Republican side, current State Treasurer Kimberly Yee secured the nomination after defeating incumbent Tom Horn in the primary. Yee supports keeping universal eligibility in place for the voucher system, but she argues the state must upgrade its financial technology to immediately flag and unblock unauthorized purchases. The candidates have been leaning heavily on their credentials, Ruiz emphasizing her 35 years in education and Yee highlighting her background as state treasurer and managing finances. I'm told by Yee's campaign team that she is not having a public event tonight and will We will not be releasing a statement until the election is is officially called. Ruiz will be here later tonight at the peak with the other Democrats watching the results start to roll in. But for now, we're live in Phoenix. Megan Spector, Fox 10 News.