The local chapter of Yavapai County’s Conservatives for a Constitutional Republic (ConCR) has announced that their next meeting, this Saturday at 11:15AM, will host a candidate forum for Yavapai County Schools Superintendent. Kara Woods, Republican activist and current member of the Prescott Unified School District Governing Board and Steve King, former Superintendent of the Cottonwood School District have qualified for the July 30, 2024 Republican Primary and have both confirmed for the candidate forum. ConCR’s meeting is free and open to the public but seating is limited. Those wishing to attend the event and meet the candidates are asked to RSVP at concr2018@gmail.com.
Kara Woods is a long time Republican activist who has served as Treasurer of the Yavapai County Republican Party (YAVGOP). In 2020 Ms. Woods was elected to a four year term on the Prescott Unified School Board where she continues to serve. Her background is as a math and physics teacher. She has taught in a number of school districts around the United States as she followed her husband’s military career.
Ms. Woods has been a frequent critic of the mediocre performance of Yavapai County schools and the failure of over half of public school students in Yavapai County to fully meet state standards in reading and math. She is an advocate of a ‘back to basics’ approach to education which emphasizes academic performance. She also believes competition in public education is needed to spur improvement. She is an advocate of school choice and parental rights and supports Arizona’s universal voucher program.
Steve King served as Superintendent of the four school Cottonwood School District from 2015 until his retirement in 2023. He has a thirty year career in public and private education. His background includes work with the charter school industry before moving to employment in government schools.
As a school administrator, he has emphasized a social justice approach to education that emphasizes more services for students from underprivileged backgrounds including school based meal programs and expanded ESL programs for the growing non-English speaking population in the Cottonwood area. He has been an advocate for the pedagogy of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and Social Emotional Learning which is currently the dominant philosophy in Arizona’s public teacher colleges. Mr. King’s campaign website also speaks of his support for phonics based reading Instruction and an emphasis on teaching job skills thru vocational education.
The Yavapai County Chapter of Conservatives for a Constitutional Republic is a group of conservative activists dedicated to defending and promoting the values of representative government as set forth in the United States Constitution. They are a private organization and not directly affiliated with a political party. However, most members are registered Republicans or conservative leaning Independents who are civically engaged or are current or former elected officials or candidates for office. During this election year, President Dutton has scheduled candidates for all top level state and national offices to address the group.
ConCR meets monthly at the Bible Baptist Church, 3490 N. State Road 89, in Chino Valley. Recent speakers include Congressman Eli Crane, current CD8 Candidate, Abe Hamadah, LD1 Senate Candidates Ken Bennet and Steve Zipperman, District 4 Board of Supervisor candidates and many other prominent conservative figures and candidates for office.
ConCR is a membership organization. However, in the interest of informing voters about important issues and candidates, the appearances of guest speakers of high public interest are open to the public. All those wishing to meet the candidates for Yavapai Superintendent of Schools and learn about their backgrounds and plans for county schools are cordially invited to attend. Time permitting the candidates will stand for questions from the audience.
Doors open at 11:00AM. The meeting will begin promptly at 11:15AM. RSVP’s are requested and should be directed to concr2018@gmail.com.
