Shelli Boggs

Shelli Boggs (Republican Party) is the Maricopa County School Superintendent in Arizona. She assumed office on January 1, 2025. Her current term ends on January 1, 2029.

Boggs (Republican Party) ran for election for Maricopa County School Superintendent in Arizona. She won in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Boggs completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Shelli Boggs was born in Arizona. She earned a high school diploma from Mesa High School and a teaching certification from the University of Phoenix in 2007. Her career experience includes working as a teacher and business owner.^[1]^[2]

Elections

2024

General election

General election for Maricopa County School Superintendent

Shelli Boggs defeated Laura Metcalfe in the general election for Maricopa County School Superintendent on November 5, 2024.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Shelli Boggs (R)	51.4	973,357
	Laura Metcalfe (D)	48.5	918,366
	Other/Write-in votes	0.1	1,470

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,893,193
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Maricopa County School Superintendent

Laura Metcalfe advanced from the Democratic primary for Maricopa County School Superintendent on July 30, 2024.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Laura Metcalfe	99.6	265,984
	Other/Write-in votes	0.4	964

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 266,948
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Maricopa County School Superintendent

Shelli Boggs defeated incumbent Steve Watson and Nickie Kelley in the Republican primary for Maricopa County School Superintendent on July 30, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Shelli Boggs	34.3	122,423
		Steve Watson	33.8	120,707
	Submit photo	Nickie Kelley	31.6	112,676
		Other/Write-in votes	0.4	1,323

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 357,129
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Boggs in this election.

2022

General election

The general election was canceled. Shelli Boggs (Nonpartisan) won without appearing on the ballot.

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

Shelli Boggs completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Boggs' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Shelli has 20 years of education experience — as a classroom teacher, governing board member and an education advocate. Shelli's conservative leadership on the East Valley Institute of Technology (EVIT) governing board has reduced administration and overhead costs to only 10% of the budget, provided a 40% teacher pay raise, and almost doubled enrollment numbers. This was accomplished through proper stewardship of the district's $148M budget without increasing taxes through bonds and overrides. Shelli serves on the Board of the Arizona Coalition of School Board Members — an alternative to the Arizona School Board Association which advances the teachers union agenda.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Respect Parental Rights
With the rise of politics in our classrooms and schools, it has become more important than ever to amplify the voice of our parents and defend their rights to raise their children.
I believe that it is the responsibility of parents to teach their children the morals and principles they believe are best and that it is the responsibility of the education system to teach our children the academic skills necessary to couple with those morals and principles to succeed in life.
I will always be an advocate for Maricopa County parents and make sure that the radical politics infesting our education system are opposed and rooted out of our educational system.
Fiscal Responsibility The taxpayers of Maricopa County deserve to know that the education system they are paying for is being properly managed and that their tax dollars aren’t being wasted or improperly spent. I am committed to a fully transparent and accountable office that will be answerable to the taxpayers. As I’ve done as the Vice President and President of the East Valley Institute of Technology, I will ensure that fiscal mismanagement is stopped and that the taxpayers are no longer on the hook for poor decisions that have left us with a multimillion dollar unaccounted for budget hole. With the majority of our tax dollars going to education, I am committed to creating a “user friendly” office and eliminate wasteful spending.
Get Politics Out of Schools Our children deserve an education that will empower them to be successful in life after school. The first thing we have to do as parents and education leaders is focus on getting the radical politics out of our classrooms and schools. Our schools need to focus on the academic success of our children and not forcing a political ideology on our children. I will never tolerate any attempt to bring the radical policies of Critical Race Theory, Diversity/Equity/Inclusion, Gender Studies, or any other “woke academic policy” into our classrooms I will always fight to protect girls’ sports from those who want to allow biological boys to compete against our female athletes.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Education

What qualities does this office possess that makes it a unique and important part of the state government and legal system?

Again, school boards set policy for their schools. This office makes appointments when there is a vacancy. The current Superintendent has replace close to 100 boards members including describing one of his replacements in a public meeting as a "Disney Princess". School Boards determine the success of public schools.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

My parents. My father was a public school teacher and coach of the girls softball coach at my high school. My mother was a hairdresser who owned her own business.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

No

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Honesty, personal integrity, a servants heart, courage and leadership. In my current position on the Governing Board of the East Valley Institute of Technology, I ran to clean up 20 years of financial malfeasance and corruption.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

I have been a successful office holder since 2018. I listen, I have good judgement of character and I am very tenacious.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

The single most important part of this job is the appointment of a new member to a school board when there is a vacancy due to a resignation. This is for all public schools in Maricopa County.

What legacy would you like to leave?

That I help children to fulfill their greatest potential.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

My first job was being a mother which I and also grandmother to seven.

Are there any little-known powers or responsibilities held by this office that you believe more people should be aware of?

Again, they make all the appointments of school board member vacancies. The current incumbent who is running for re-election has made close to 100 appointments countywide during his term.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for holders of this office to have previous experience in government or politics?

I believe it is imperative that anyone running for this office to have served on a public school board. Neither the incumbent or the other candidate running for this office have had this experience.

What kind of skills or expertise do you believe would be the most helpful for the holders of this office to possess?

They need to have extensive experience in managing school budgets, county and state government experience and working with diverse groups of the various shareholders and parents. Parents have a critical role to play in their child's education.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

https://boggsforschools.com/endorsements

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

Financial transparency and government accountability is a must. One of the main reasons I am running for this office is the current Maricopa County Superintendent is under investigation because of financial malfeasance and a forensic audit was just completed by an outside accounting firm.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

2022

Shelli Boggs did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

External links

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Candidate

Maricopa County School Superintendent

Personal

Footnotes

↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on July 1, 2024
↑ Ballotpedia staff, "Email communication with Shelli Boggs' campaign," September 30, 2024

Political offices
Preceded by Steve Watson (R)	Maricopa County School Superintendent 2025-Present	Succeeded by -
Preceded by -	East Valley Institute of Technology District District 9 -2025	Succeeded by -

[1] Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on July 1, 2024

[2] Ballotpedia staff, "Email communication with Shelli Boggs' campaign," September 30, 2024

[1]

[2]

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Shelli Boggs

Contents

Biography

Elections

2024

General election

General election for Maricopa County School Superintendent

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Maricopa County School Superintendent

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Maricopa County School Superintendent

Endorsements

2022

General election

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

2022

See also

External links

Footnotes

Information about voting

2025 Elections

2026 Elections

2024 Election analysis

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Public Policy

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