identification evolve. Also on the ballot in Tuesday's election
is the statewide race for the next superintendent of the
Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. In this contest,
incumbent Superintendent Jill Underly faces education
consultant Brittany Kinser to see who voters will choose to
lead the state's public education system. Steven Potter
has this report. >> But again, we need to make
sure kids can read, write and do math. We all want the same
thing. We want strong schools. >> In the race for State
Superintendent of Public Instruction, a position that
oversees all of Wisconsin's 400 different public school
districts. Both candidates say they want what's best for kids.
>> I'm running because I want to make public education better for
all kids here in Wisconsin. I want us to really focus on
educating our children and making sure that we are
transparent about where we're at.
for state Superintendent challenger Brittany Kinser and
incumbent Jill Underly are two very different things. And those
different philosophies for how the state's education system
should be led comes in part from differences in the two
candidates educational experiences.
Chicago public schools for ten years.
>> I have opened up my own school where I received an award
from then Superintendent and Governor Evers for beating the
odds here in Milwaukee. And I've also been an executive director
of a charter network and a CEO of a nonprofit. And now I'm
running an initiative to help more children in Wisconsin
become fluent in reading. As the incumbent, I feel.
>> Like I have all the experience. I'm a lifelong
public servant. I'm a lifelong teacher, an educator. I started
teaching social studies, and then I worked my way through
different systems, K-12 as well as higher education and in state
service. I was also an elementary principal, a high
school principal, and a district superintendent here in
Wisconsin. >> New to this election is a
major debate over the standards set by the state Department of
Public Instruction. A debate over how to measure student
achievement in reading and math. It started last year when
current Superintendent Underly made changes to the state
academic testing standards. She says updating these learning
benchmarks is a routine practice.
>> Every few years. >> We do change standards. We
take out some outdated ones and we add new ones, and that was
not unusual. I think the point that became contentious was that
we had changed the, the, the grading scale because the
scoring scale previously was aligned to a different test.
>> But Republicans in the legislature say that Underly
lowered standards to make more students look like they were
doing better academically. Last week, they sent a bill to the
governor requiring DPI to return to using the old academic
standards. This week, he vetoed that bill. Brittany Kinser says
the new standards had pushed her to run for superintendent.
>> We should not be lowering standards. That's when I got
into the race. So it's showing more kids are are reading
proficiently than they really are. Which isn't being honest
and it's not being truthful about where our kids are. It
also because she lowered the standards we cannot compare to
how we were doing before Covid. And we know a lot of children
fell behind. for that. Folks are saying that
you've lowered standards. This is dumbing down our students.
What's your reply to that? >> I absolutely did not do any
of that. And I think it's outrageous. It's an outright
lie. I have very high standards and I always push for very high
standards for our for our students and for our staff. And
we actually raised standards when we looked at this last
iteration of the test, we added standards in math and science
and increased standards by adding a literacy score for our
students. >> Another super charged
political topic that divides Kinser and Underly is the
state's school voucher system. In operation for decades and
often referred to as school choice. The program allows
taxpayer funds to pay for private school funds that would
normally go to that student's public school. Kinser is an
advocate for school choice and vouchers. Underly is not.
>> I am the only school choice. Candidate, and I believe that
there should be transparency across all of the schools for
all of our children. We're talking about children who are
living below a certain income. Families, and they're receiving
a scholarship to attend a private school. And from the
testing data, the schools around some of where our families are
living are not. So, you know, the best option for their
children. So I believe that parents should have that option.
>> So school choice actually sounds like a pretty nice thing,
doesn't it? Like who shouldn't have choice, right? But really,
what it is in Wisconsin is it's privatization of public schools.
>> So where do you stand on the voucher school system? Do you
want to see it eliminated? >> I ultimately yes, I would
like to see it eliminated. We are spending so much money on it
that it's taking money from our public schools.
>> And to that matter of money, it is a budget year for the
state. As superintendent, Underly has requested more than
$4 billion for the state's public school system over the
next two years. She wants an increase in per student funding
and wants to get closer to fully funding special education costs.
>> It's a lot. It is a lot, but it.
schools have been underfunded, chronically. They have been
underfunded and undermined for the past 15 years. And it's
evident by the amount of school districts that are going to
referendum. And these referendums are large amounts of
money. >> Like Underly, Kinser wants to
see an increase in general per student and special education
funding. However, she says that Underly proposal is simply too
much. >> I think it's unrealistic that
we're going to ask for $4 billion when that is the whole
surplus and there's many other, you know, education is my issue,
but there are lots of issues in the state.
>> While it will ultimately be up to those in state government
to decide how much the state's public school system receives,
it will be up to voters on April 1st to decide who leads the
state school system, helping determine the future for its
students. Reporting from students. Reporting from