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Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction
| Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction | |
 | |
| General information | |
| Office Type: | Partisan |
| Office website: | Official Link |
| Term limits: | Two consecutive terms |
| Structure | |
| Length of term: | 4 years |
| Authority: | Arizona Constitution, Article 5, Section 1 (Version 2) |
| Selection Method: | Elected |
| Current Officeholder | |
 | |
| Name: | John Huppenthal |
| Officeholder Party: | Republican |
| Assumed office: | January 3, 2011 |
| Compensation: | $85,000 |
| Elections | |
| Next election: | November 4, 2014 |
| Last election: | November 2, 2010 |
| Other Arizona Executive Offices | |
| Governor • Secretary of State • Attorney General • Treasurer • Superintendent of Public Instruction• Auditor• Agriculture Director • Insurance Director• Lands Commissioner• Labor Director• Corporation Commission• State Mine Inspector | |
Contents |
Current officeholder
The current superintendent is John Huppenthal, first elected in November 2010. The post of superintendent will next come up for election in 2014.
Before becoming superintendent, Huppenthal served from 2004 to 2010 in the Arizona Senate. He was a state representative from 2001 to 2004 and a member of the Chandler, AZ City Council. Huppenthal also worked as a senior planning analyst for the Salt River Project, an Arizona power and water utility.[1]
Authority
The office of superintendent is established by the Arizona Constitution as part of the state's executive department.
Arizona Constitution, Article 5, Section 1 (Version 2)
| The executive department shall consist of the governor, secretary of state, state treasurer, attorney general, and superintendent of public instruction... |
Qualifications
The Arizona Constitution requires all of the officers in the state's executive department, including the superintendent of public instruction, to be at least 25 years old, a U.S. citizen for 10 years, and an Arizona resident for five years.
Arizona Constitution, Article 5, Section 2
| No person shall be eligible to any of the offices mentioned in section 1 of this article except a person of the age of not less than twenty-five years, who shall have been for ten years next preceding his election a citizen of the United States, and for five years next preceding his election a citizen of Arizona. |
Elections
Arizonans elect their superintendent of public instruction in midterm election years (2006, 2010, 2014, etc.) for a term of four years. The winner assumes office on the first Monday of January after his or her election.[2] If no candidate receives a majority (over 50%) of the votes, a run-off election is held between the two candidates that received the largest amount. If the two candidates in the run-off receive an equal number of votes, the state legislature chooses a winner.
Arizona Constitution, Article 5, Section 1 (Version 2)
| A. The executive department shall consist of the governor, secretary of state, state treasurer, attorney general, and superintendent of public instruction, each of whom shall hold office for a term of four years beginning on the first Monday of January, 1971 next after the regular general election in 1970.
B. B. The person having a majority of the votes cast for the office voted for shall be elected. If no person receives a majority of the votes cast for the office, a second election shall be held as prescribed by law between the persons receiving the highest and second highest number of votes cast for the office. The person receiving the highest number of votes at the second election for the office is elected, but if the two persons have an equal number of votes for the office, the two houses of the legislature at its next regular session shall elect forthwith, by joint ballot, one of such persons for said office. |
Term limits
Article 5, Section 1 (Version 2) of the Arizona Constitution limits superintendents to two consecutive terms. Former officeholders may run again after they have remained out of office for one full term.
Vacancies
Article 5, Section 8 of the state constitution allows governor to fill vacancies in the office of superintendent by appointment.
Duties
The superintendent of public instruction oversees and administrates the Arizona Department of Education, which manages the state's public school system. His general duties include managing the employees of the department. Other specific responsibilities enumerated by law include:[3]
- Executing the policies established by the State Board of Education.
- Apportioning state education funds to individual counties each year.
- Distributes school materials, courses of study, administrative information, teachers certificates and other items to individual school districts.
- Audits the accounts of school officials across the state with the assistance of the auditor general.
Divisions
The Department of Education includes a number of individual programs, including:[4]
- Vocational and Technological Education
- School Finance
- School Accountability and Improvement
- Student Assessment
- Research and Evaluation
- School Improvement and State Intervention
- Education Services
- Exceptional Student Services
- English Acquisition Services
- Early Childhood Programs
- Title I (Financial assistance to low income areas)
- Career Technical Education
- Adult Education and GED
- Standards Based Best Practices
- Nutrition
- Family Literacy
- Outreach Programs
- Innovative Exemplary Programs
- Professional Development
- Highly Qualified Professional
- K-12 Literacy
- Administration
- Administrative Services
- Information Technology
Compensation
- See also: Compensation of state executive officers
2012
In 2012, the superintendent of public instruction was paid an estimated $85,000. This figure comes from the Council of State Governments.
2010
In 2010, the superintendent of public instruction received compensation in the amount of $85,000.[5] The exact pay rate of the superintendent is determined by the Arizona Commission on Salaries for Elective State Officers, which submits recommendations for elective state officer salaries to the governor every even-numbered year. Unless those recommendations are changed or rejected by the governor, they became effective on the first Monday of January of the following calendar year. The superintendent's compensation was most recently adjusted in January 2013.[6]
Contact info
Physical/mailing address:
1535 W. Jefferson Street
Phoenix, AZ 85007
Phone: (602) 542-5393
See also
External links
References
- ↑ Arizona Department of Education, "Biography of John Huppenthal," accessed July 7, 2011.
- ↑ Arizona Constitution, "Article 5, Section 1 (Version 2)," accessed June 6, 2011.
- ↑ Arizona Revised Statutes, "Title 15, Article 3 -- Superintendent of Public Instruction," accessed June 7, 2011.
- ↑ Arizona Department of Education, "FY 2010-2012 Strategic Plan Master List," accessed June 7, 2011.
- ↑ The Council of State Governments, "Book of the States 2010, Table 4.11," accessed May 20, 2011.
- ↑ Arizona Revised Statutes, "Title 41, Chapter 13, Article 1, Section 41-1904," accessed June 6, 2011.
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