Education consultant Brittany Kinser is challenging incumbent Jill Underly for superintendent of the Department of Public Instruction in the April 1 general election.
Kinser has been a special education teacher in Chicago public schools — though she has never had a Wisconsin teaching license — a Milwaukee school principal, and executive director of a national public charter school network. She is a champion of Wisconsin’s school choice program that allows students to attend private schools with vouchers paid for by taxpayers.
Prior to becoming state superintendent, Underly served as superintendent of the Pecatonica Area School District and as an assistant director at the Department of Public Instruction. She has advocated for a large increase in state funding for public schools and her department recently lowered the threshold for what is proficient on state tests and changed the student success benchmark.
Isthmus sent the candidates written questionnaires. You can find the questionnaire for Underly here.
Wisconsin residents can check their voter information and find out where to vote and register at myvote.wi.gov.
Responses have been edited for space and clarity.
You support expanding school choice in Wisconsin. Are you concerned that expansion might siphon funds from public schools?
Kinser: Taxpayer-supported school choice options include traditional public schools, public open enrollment, public charter schools, private choice schools and virtual schools, so parents choose what is best for their child. Funding differs across sectors and regions, creating conflict. We must modernize the school funding formula and adequately support all students.
You back the Republican proposal to restore previous testing standards for students. What do you think is inadequate about the new ones released by the Department of Public Instruction?
Kinser: Underly lowered standards to cover up the grim reality that three out of 10 students are not on track for college or career readiness, and un-aligned them from the Nation’s Report Card. Parents and districts can no longer track student performance over time, and too many kids still can’t read.
You’ve expressed opposition to overturning Act 10. How has Act 10 improved schools and education in Wisconsin?
Kinser: The savings and policies from Act 10 have provided districts the opportunity to do things like offer higher salaries for hard-to-fill staff positions and merit pay, as well as invest in skilled trade teaching and college-level coursework. Its reversal would result in ballooning class sizes and cuts.
Wisconsin has one of the largest Black-white achievement gaps in the country. What do you think should be done to reduce the gap?
Kinser: When I served as a public charter school principal in Milwaukee, I was awarded the Beating the Odds award by then-Superintendent Tony Evers. We must reinvest in evidence-based reading instruction and ensure the districts have the resources needed to focus on our students most in need.
President Donald Trump has sought to eliminate the U.S. Department of Education which supports 14% of public school budgets nationwide with an annual budget of $79 billion. Do you support this move?
Kinser: Schools and states need to be able to budget and plan. This federal funding is critical; Wisconsin must continue to receive all funding currently provided by the Department of Education so programs like special education continue to be funded and schools are able to serve students most in need.
According to a report from DPI, nearly one in five Wisconsin public school teachers quits before their third year. How would you address this high turnover rate?
Kinser: By reforming our school funding formula, we can free up resources to ensure we are better paying our great teachers to attract and retain the best of the best. There are programs to emulate across the country that can dramatically impact the willingness of teachers to stay in this important profession.
