(Victor Joecks/NPRI) – Rene Cantu

, James W. Guthrie , Magdalena Martinez , Caroline McIntosh and Sylvia L. McMullen are the five finalists to be Nevada’s Superintendent for Public Instruction.

Tomorrow, the State Board of Education will forward three of the candidates to Gov. Brian Sandoval

, and within the next month, he will choose one of them to be the next superintendent.

Who are the candidates, and what do they believe in? NPRI’s publication, Nevada Journal, asked the candidates for their thoughts on school choice, including vouchers, and education spending.
School choice:

Education spending:

The good news is that three of the candidates affirmatively told Nevada Journal they supported school choice, with only Martinez and Guthrie side stepping the issue.

When the Board of Education asked Martinez about school choice she danced around the issue saying that school choice won’t work in isolation. As part of a larger reform agenda, she said, it can improve the education of students.

I don’t know where she stands on the issue as she did her best to avoid directly answering the question.

When the Board of Education asked Guthrie about educational freedom, his answer made it sound like he would only reluctantly implement educational choice.

Given that Gov. Brian Sandoval has been proactive in promoting school choice and substantial education reform

and that three of the five remaining candidates are affirmatively pro-educational freedom, I’m cautiously optimistic that Nevada’s next Superintendent of Public Instruction will be an on-the-record supporter of school choice.

And that’s something parents, students and citizens of Nevada can all be excited about.