Kathy Hoffman, projected to win State Superintendent race, speaks out following election triumph

PHOENIX (KSAZ) -- It was one of the stunners of this election season, as a little known teacher out of Glendale was projected to be the winner of the race to become Arizona's next Superintendent of Public Instruction, knocking out an ex-congressman from California.

That win, however, gives Kathy Hoffman a boatload of problems come January, including charter school oversight and low test scores in public schools.

Hoffman was the face of a grassroots movement that had her campaign attached to RedforED, but Hoffman made it clear: she is not a RedforED puppet, and when she takes office in January, she remains her own person, with her own set of priorities.

"They want more staff, they want more people, they want more oversight, and they've asked the Governor for that. Will you go directly to the Governor for that?" asked FOX 10's Matt Rodewald.

"Absolutely," Hoffman replied. "I will advocating for that straight to the Governor."

As much as Hoffman has passion for her pro-public education platform, she wants to be careful.

"I don't want the Department of Education to be an agency of compliance, it also needs to be an agency of service," said Hoffman. "We should be providing professional development to both our traditional district schools as well as our charter schools, to make sure that they are following the law."

Many of the issues remain since thousands of teachers marched on the State Capitol, starting with class size.

"It has a very poor effect on teacher retention, because when you have large classroom sizes like that, it affects teacher workload," said Hoffman.

Morale is also a problem. Hoffman says she is eager to change the mood in Arizona.

"I want to show people why teaching is actually one of the best jobs out there," said Hoffman.

Hoffman also wants to see pay for maternity leave, and pay for student teachers. Hoffman also took a shot at Eddie Farnsworth, calling the state lawmakers role as a charter school CEO a "concerning conflict of interest".