MILWAUKEE – Wisconsin voters cast ballots on Tuesday, April 1 for the state’s top education official – the superintendent of public instruction. That person will guide policies affecting K-12 schools in the coming years.
Underly vs. Kinser
What we know:
The race for state superintendent pits incumbent Jill Underly, who is backed by Democrats and the teachers union, against consultant Brittany Kinser, a supporter of the private school voucher program who is endorsed by Republicans but calls herself a moderate.
Wisconsin is the only state where voters elect the top education official, but there is no state board of education. That gives the superintendent broad authority to oversee education policy, from dispersing school funding to managing teacher licensing.
The winner will take office at a time when test scores are still recovering from the pandemic, the achievement gap between white and Black students remains the worst in the country and more schools are asking voters to raise property taxes to pay for operations.
The incumbent
What we know:
Underly’s education career began in 1999 as a high school social studies teacher in Indiana. She moved to Wisconsin in 2005 and worked for five years at the state education department. She also was principal of Pecatonica Elementary School for a year before becoming district administrator.
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Underly, 47, was elected state superintendent in 2021 and was endorsed by the union, the Wisconsin Education Association Council, as well as the Wisconsin Democratic Party and numerous Democratic officeholders.
The challenger
What we know:
Kinser, whose backers include the Wisconsin Republican Party and former Republican Govs. Tommy Thompson and Scott Walker, is vying to become the first GOP-affiliated person to hold the superintendent position in more than 30 years.
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She worked for almost 10 years as a special education teacher and instructional coach in Chicago Public Schools. After that she spent 15 years at public charter schools in Chicago, California and Milwaukee.
Election results
The Source: The information in this post was produced by FOX6 News and includes information from The Associated Press.
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