The *Other* Critical Wisconsin Race on the April 1st Ballot

While the upcoming Wisconsin Supreme Court election continues to dominate the headlines, there’s another race on the ballot this year that will have massive implications for public education in our state.

The Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction race isn’t drawing nearly enough attention, but in the wake of Donald Trump’s recent executive order that could have been a press release to dramatically dismantle the U.S. Department of Education, this election could shape the future of K-12 education in Wisconsin in ways we can’t afford to ignore.

What Does the State Superintendent Do?

The Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction is the top education official in the state, overseeing the Department of Public Instruction (DPI). They oversee the state's public education system, providing leadership, managing teacher licensing, and distributing funds to schools.

The superintendent is responsible for everything from setting statewide education standards to distributing school funding, guiding curriculum decisions, and ensuring compliance with federal education laws. While this is officially a nonpartisan role, the race is often influenced by ideological and political divides over how to manage public education.

Fun fact: Governor Tony Evers previously held this role, a nod to his unrelenting focus on kids and schools.

Who Are the Candidates?

This year’s race features two distinct candidates with very different visions for public education in Wisconsin:

Dr. Jill Underly (Incumbent)

Underly, the current Superintendent of Public Instruction, is a strong advocate for public school funding and making sure all students have access to resources within our schools no matter their background or circumstance. The biggest things she wants to see changed with another term are teacher recruitment and retention, mental health access for students and more school funding. She has said her work on literacy is one of her proudest accomplishments in her first term. She has the backing of the Democratic Party and labor organizations.

She has consistently pushed back against school privatization efforts and has emphasized the importance of public investment in K-12 education. With Trump’s executive order threatening to cut federal funding streams, Underly is likely to focus on finding alternative ways to maintain strong public school funding and ensuring that policy decisions prioritize student and teacher support over privatization efforts.

Brittany Kinser (Challenger)

Kinser, a former charter school principal and CEO of an education nonprofit, positions herself as a moderate reformer but has drawn support from extreme conservative groups including Moms for Liberty and Turning Point. These groups villainize public schools and teachers while advocating for increased school choice policies and expanding charter schools with voucher programs, which could gain traction under a reduced federal oversight model.

Kinser argues that local control and parental choice should be the guiding principles of Wisconsin’s education system, aligning with national conservative movements to decentralize public education. The problem with “choice” as it is marketed in education, is that it allows private institutions to discriminate against or not allow students based on family faith, disability, etc. It also relies on the parents or caregivers to be able to independently handle transportation to and from school, meals, and much more, which is often a barrier for low-income and rural families—who Republicans claim this would be most helpful for.

Trump’s Executive Order and Its Impact on Public Schools

Trump’s recent executive order calls for a major downsizing of the U.S. Department of Education, shifting much of its oversight power to the states and reducing federal funding for programs that don’t align with “America First” priorities.

Just a reminder: he can’t actually abolish the department, that would be illegal and immediately be challenged in court. However, he’s still going to (and already is) gutting the parts of it that he can access as to make it significantly less powerful, giving state leaders—including Wisconsin’s next superintendent—far more authority over how education policy is shaped and funded and probably most importantly, what happens to the students most impacted by cuts to the federal program. From Mrs. Frazzled’s recent Substack:

The ED’s job is not to educate students directly. In fact, The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) prohibits it.

The Department of Education:

Makes sure schools don’t discriminate against students based on race, gender, or disability.

Provides low-income students with extra support.

Protects the resources students with disabilities are legally entitled to.

From the EO: “Ultimately, the Department of Education’s main functions can, and should, be returned to the States.”

Translation: Let states discriminate however they want.

Because before federal oversight, states had full control over education - and that meant segregated schools, underfunded districts (especially in communities of color), and students with disabilities were denied an education altogether.

States and local governments already control the vast majority of education policy, including funding and what is taught (or not taught).

So when this executive order talks about ending the “FeDeRaL bUrEaUcRaTiC hOlD oN eDuCaTiOn,” what it really means is that red states want to receive federal money for education without any obligation to protect marginalized students.

With such high stakes, understanding the candidates in this race is more critical than ever.

How Would Each Candidate Respond to a Downsized Department of Education?

If Trump’s executive order is fully enacted, Wisconsin’s next superintendent will have to navigate a landscape where federal education funding is slashed and states are left to fill the gaps—or reshape education entirely.

• An Underly-led DPI would likely resist these changes, working to preserve funding for public schools, advocating for state-level investment, and pushing back against the national push to weaken public education institutions. Underly would likely work to create new funding mechanisms to counteract lost federal support and ensure that Wisconsin’s public schools remain robust. From a recent interview with PBS:

  Steven Potter:
  How would that dismantling of the federal Department of Education affect Wisconsin's state school system?

  Dr. Jill Underly:
  Yeah, it would be catastrophic for our Wisconsin school systems. We recently released some maps that show the amount of funding that is federal coming to our different school districts and communities in Wisconsin. Anywhere from — the most diverse school districts, it's about 10% of their budget is from federal dollars. And then in some of the higher poverty or in some of the more rural areas, especially up north, it's upward of 15% or 20% of their budget can be from federal dollars. It would damage programs for literacy and math, especially for elementary school students. It would damage programs for special education. It would certainly lead to higher class sizes because these federal dollars often fund teachers.

• A Kinser-led DPI could mean increased reliance on school choice initiatives, shifting more public education dollars into private and charter schools while loosening regulations around curriculum and teacher certification. With fewer federal restrictions, Wisconsin would see an acceleration of education privatization, something that conservative policymakers have long pushed for.

Why This Race Matters More Than Ever

With so much focus (and an insane amount of money) on the Supreme Court race, it’s easy to overlook state-level elections that will determine how federal policies actually play out in our daily lives. The Trump administration’s effort to weaken the U.S. Department of Education places even greater importance on who holds state education leadership positions. The next Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction won’t just be making decisions about textbooks and teacher training—they’ll be shaping the very structure of our public education system in a post-federal oversight era.

At the end of the day, the question is: do we want to invest in our public schools, or in a voucher system that starves them?

This is a race that every Wisconsin voter should be paying attention to. The future of our schools, kids, and communities depends on it.

Go vote!
-K.