Tony Evers, Lowell Holtz and John Humphries. The top two candidates in the Feb. 21 primary will face off in the April 4 general election.
When it comes to selecting a leader of the public school system, Wisconsin is the only state in the country that calls on “qualified electors” to make the choice.
The state superintendent of public instruction, a position established by the Wisconsin constitution, lasts four years and is housed within the executive branch of state government. In most states, superintendents are appointed by a state school board or governor.
John Witte, UW-Madison professor emeritus of public affairs and political science, says while the post is meant to be nonpartisan, it has always toed the political line.
“Everybody knows which party they’re in and who is supporting them,” Witte says.
The superintendent runs the administrative apparatus of the state’s schools — across 424 school districts — overseeing teacher licensing, curriculum standards and student aid, and implementing educational programs, some of which are mandated by state law. The superintendent also sits on the Wisconsin Technical College System Board and the UW Board of Regents.
“Around the 1980s things began to change throughout the U.S., and they changed dramatically here in Wisconsin. Superintendents became much more proactive for education, and as the roles of the states increased, so did the roles of state superintendents,” says Witte, referring to state oversight of curriculum and testing standards. “The state superintendent is like a governor for the state school system.”
This spring, Wisconsinites will vote for the next school “governor.” The Feb. 21 primary includes three candidates on the ballot: incumbent Tony Evers; John Humphries, a school administration consultant; and Lowell Holtz, a retired district superintendent. Rick Melcher, who teaches math at Park High School in Racine, is running a write-in campaign. The two candidates with the most votes in the primary will face off in the April 4 general election.
One of the controversial topics looming over education policy is school choice and the autonomy parents have in choosing where to send their kids to school. Open enrollment is one way to increase choice; taxpayer-funded state voucher programs are another.
Evers, who has been superintendent since 2009, does not support expansion of the voucher program, because it takes resources away from public schools — the state’s Department of Revenue found that the richest 13 percent of earners claimed two-thirds of the vouchers. Both Humphries and Holtz support vouchers, saying competition between private and public schools improves performance.
Another major focus of the campaign is Common Core standards, a national program that establishes benchmarks for math and language skills. Evers argues Common Core gives teachers more flexibility and pushes kids to think deeper. Humphries believes the standards were forced upon educators from outside the state with little consideration for how kids learn. Holtz also opposes Common Core and wants districts to set standards.
The candidates agree on the need to address Wisconsin’s achievement gap and racial disparities in test scores, graduation rates and college attendance, but they differ in strategy.
Both Holtz and Humphries believe more school options will increase achievement, whereas Evers argues for more funding and resources, particularly related to social, emotional and mental health.
For Melcher, the write-in candidate, adequate funding for public schools is the most pressing issue. He opposes the state voucher program, writing in a Wisconsin Public Education Network survey, “Make no mistake, this is an entitlement program designed to divert public taxes to privately owned schools or religious schools. Although powerful outside influences have convinced some judges to decide to the contrary, I believe this is unconstitutional.”
On Election Day, Evers went to bed early. He suspected Donald Trump would win and turned off the barrage of news. The next morning, he scrolled through local papers across the state, checking to see which referendums passed.
“That was one of the most encouraging things I had seen for some time,” says Evers. Fifty-five of the 67 school referendums that appeared on local ballots passed, a funding bump approaching $1 billion.
“The same people that had angst about government voted to increase taxes on themselves to keep schools running efficiently and effectively,” Evers says. “That’s a great thing. It means local schools are doing a great job and people support them. But it’s not sustainable.”
As an advocate of 860,000 kids, Evers wants to restore financial stability to schools, so that referendums alone aren’t what separates the haves from the have-nots.
In his 2017-2019 budget request, Evers increased general school aid by $514 million through his Fair Funding plan, which guarantees at least $3,000 of state funding per student, incorporates a poverty factor, and ensures no district can lose more than 10 percent of state aid in any year.
Evers says this ensures the money going to school districts helps kids who are struggling.
“We weigh different subgroups like kids in poverty, English language learners, students with disabilities and foster kids, because we know they struggle academically, because they’re struggling in other ways,” says Evers. “There are kids that need more help and that generally means more resources.”
Evers wants to continue investing in professional development for teachers, focusing on cultural competency and community engagement. He also wants to bolster dual-enrollment programs.
“We’ve accomplished a lot in the last eight years. Our public schools continue to be strong,” Evers says. “I think I understand the complexities of the achievement gap. It’s easy to say ‘We’ll do some top-down stuff or we’ll do more testing,’ but that’s not the answer. We can’t be chasing test scores; we have to ensure that kids are ready to learn.”
Humphries is ready to rock the status quo.
“For too long, people have seen this as a partisan office,” says Humphries. “[Evers] has been at DPI for 16 years, he’s had many opportunities to [try] things that have worked in other states.... He’s comfortable with the status quo, and I’m not.”
Humphries’ platform promises to create a state board of education, increase school choice, improve teacher training, limit state-mandated testing to three hours a year, and remove Common Core. He also wants to increase the ways in which voters hold the state superintendent accountable.
“One of my proposals is to have a state report card,” Humphries says. “Schools get report cards, school districts get report cards; I want one whole state report card that holds me accountable for statewide results, because if we’re not getting better, I should be answering for that.”
He proposes creating a state school board composed of nine members: four appointed by the minority party in the Legislature, four by the majority party, and a board president appointed by the governor.
“It’s not a bureaucracy, it’s accountability, and a reasonable check and balance on the power of the state superintendent,” says Humphries.
Humphries says Wisconsin’s schools badly need new leadership.
“We have to improve our academic outcomes because we’re failing our kids. It’s a moral issue, it’s an economic issue, and it’s an issue we can solve,” Humphries says. “People want to blame poverty, they want to say parent involvement isn’t what it used to be, they want to blame school funding for the problems, but that’s not why our outcomes aren’t better. It’s us as educators, we’ve got to do a better job, and it’s only through new leadership at DPI that we can get around to that.”
Holtz calls himself a “kidservative,” in order to keep his focus on the children and avoid partisanship.
“When you talk about kids, it doesn’t matter what side of the aisle you’re on,” Holtz says. “You want the best opportunities for all of our kids and teachers.”
He’s been campaigning town to town with his wife. “This is an incredible adventure, running a statewide race. We prayed a lot about it, but we really felt we couldn’t turn our back on the kids that we’ve grown to love.”
If elected, Holtz promises to eliminate Common Core, reduce the state dropout rate, and collaborate with schools and teachers to return classroom safety and control back to teachers.
After working in administration in both rural and urban school districts, Holtz says he has the experience to turn around failing schools in Wisconsin.
“I have experience in the high-poverty rural areas, and I certainly have experience turning around large urban districts in Wisconsin,” says Holtz. “We need great schools for all of our kids.”
For Holtz, the answer is providing more choice, increasing local control and taking responsibility.
“When I grew up you had to name the problem, you had to own the problem, take responsibility for it and then you had to fix it,” Holtz says. “It’s time we had someone in office who was willing to do that.”
