MADISON (WKOW) -- On Tuesday, Wisconsin voters went to the polls for the spring primary, which sets the stage for the general election on April 1.
There was one race on every ballot across the state – for Superintendent of Public Instruction.
This was a three-way race for two spots. The Associated Press called those two spots for the incumbent, Dr. Jill Underly, and Brittany Kinser, and education consultant.
Sauk Prairie School District Superintendent Jeff Wright came in third, according to unofficial results.
Wright responded to this loss and said in a statement, in part:
"While our campaign did not advance, I’m grateful for the conversations I was able to have over the past few years about the future of K-12 public education in Wisconsin, for the support of those who voted for me, and my family who stood by me as well."
The race remained close between Underly and Kisner as results came in, with Underly just a few percentage points ahead of Kinser for most of the night.
Underly has been the State Superintendent since 2021 and is backed by the democratic party.
“I'm just really deeply grateful to the voters of Wisconsin for their support in this primary election,” said Underly after finding out she advanced. “I think it just shows our shared commitment to our Wisconsin public schools, our teachers, kids and just really reinforces that turning my tenure that's what the focus has been on, it's been our teacher and our kids and our kids especially.”
Kinser is the favored candidate of Republicans, raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for her campaign– and outpacing her opponents in the primary.
In a statement, she said in part:
“I am inspired and humbled by the level of support my campaign has received in just a few short months. From now until April 1, I will continue to travel the state and share my plan to bring a clean slate, a fresh start and a fundamentally new approach to DPI.”
A top issue in this race is achievement measurement in schools. Underly directed the state Department of Instruction to lower the benchmarks on standardized tests in Wisconsin. This move has been criticized by some for lowering the bar for students.
Kinser looks to restore the higher standards from the previous system with a focus on reading, writing and math. Right now, standardized testing begins in third grade in Wisconsin, but Kinser believes it should start earlier in public schools.
“Right now with Act 20, we are progress monitoring our younger children so schools do know where their kids are at, they know, teachers know already in their class, but this is just to report out and we need to have that transparency,” said Kinser.
Another key issue is funding disparities. Underly believes that privatization of schools and school vouchers is pulling money out of the public school system.
"I think there will be a clear choice between the candidate that is a pro-public school candidate and the candidate that is in favor of privatization and vouchers," Underly said during a February visit to La Crosse . "My number one job is to advocate for public schools and make sure we can get them the funding they need."
Kinser said the conversation around school vouchers specifically is a distraction away from other issues, but when it comes to funding, she said there’s a need for an increase in reimbursement for special education and rural transportation.
Kinser believes the current funding formula for schools is outdated.
“I will work with experts, work with the legislature, work with the governor to make sure that there is fair funding,” said Kinser. “People's taxes are going up and it's not working for many districts.”
Underly and Kinser will face off in the general election on April 1.
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