GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – The only state-wide race on the upcoming April election ballot is for state superintendent. There are two candidates, Deborah Kerr and Jill Underly.
“Our kids and families are not winning in Wisconsin, and I’d like to create a world-class education system that’s the highest-performing in the country. Wisconsin is on the bottom of the list for performance in the United States,” Kerr said. “We’ve got such large achievement gaps, we have to address these and acknowledge these right away. Wisconsin is on the list of having the worst achievement gaps in the last ten years across the country, and we can do better – our kids deserve better.”
“I want to do things that will bring more people into the teaching profession. I’m supported by teachers, bi-partisan groups, different legislators. I think that speaks volumes considering who’s supporting Dr. Kerr,” Underly said. “[Finding] a funding formula as well as addressing the fact that we don’t have enough money in our schools to address mental health needs as well as recruiting and retaining teachers. Those are just a few things on the surface.”
WTAQ’s The Morning News with Matt and Earl has spoken to both candidates about their stances, and what separates them. But first, a look at what they have in common.
A hot topic surrounding the race has been the plan to re-implement in-person schooling in response to the coronavirus. Both candidates have expressed support for re-opening schools.
Kerr said her plan would have school reopenings be mandatory across the state and allow for different districts to take customized approaches to reopening.
“We need to get our schools back open, 5-days a week, full time,” Kerr said. “I want to be able to support all of these districts opening up quickly and safely, and I’ve had a plan for statewide recovery and re-entry so we can do this. We’ve got the resources with money from the state and federal government, and we’ve got to get back to business.”
Kerr adds that there was an education equity issue in the state prior to the pandemic, but the closures have exacerbated issues further, especially in urban areas.
“Our black and brown students have been in virtual learning since last year. So our kids who need it most have been out of school, while their white classmates across the state have been back since September 1st,” Kerr said. “We’ve got to look at where these kids are, where their performance level is, and we’re going to have to provide extensive tutoring and make sure our kids are at grade-level. If they need to catch up, we’ve got to provide those resources.”
Kerr suggested altering the summer learning program, and even floated the idea of restructuring the state’s school calendar.
Underly’s proposed plan for reopenings would have local school districts decide when they reopen and she would focus on providing resources to the districts.
“We know how to do it. I think we’re at the point where we we’re at the stage where we can open our schools and we can do it safely,” Underly said.
Both candidates have also acknowledged that technology will play a major role in the future of education in the state, especially after the past year of heavily utilizing it.
“All kids deserve 21st century classrooms. Our teachers need to teach in those environments too. But if we ever had to pivot to virtual learning, we need to make sure that our communities and schools and families are prepared,” Underly said. “We certainly need to look at resources for schools that are behind a little bit here with, for example, technology or [getting] wireless Internet to our communities that need it. But we certainly need to be putting our resources especially towards the schools that need it the most.”
“I think we have to learn to be flexible, and continue to learn and grow in this technological world,” Kerr said. “There should be no scheduling problems for high school kids ever again. Think about a kid who wants to be in band, but there’s a conflict with AP Government – they can take AP Government online and still be in the band…There’s going to be more choices moving forward. Parents will always have the choice to send their kids to school, whether it’s virtual or face-to-face. And I think we have to respect that decision.”
Speaking of choices and decisions, that leads to one key difference in candidates. Kerr and Underly disagree on the role of charter schools and school vouchers in public education policy.
“I’m a strong supporter of school choice, because our parents have the liberty to choose where to send their kids to school. It’s based on your circumstances,” Kerr said. “It’s not that I believe in school choice or public schools, I believe in all of them. But the question should be – ‘how do we provide a high-quality educations for all children in Wisconsin?’”
“I don’t support using public money to support private school vouchers. I have nothing against private schools, they have a role in the general fabric of education here in Wisconsin. But I do believe that our public schools are under-resourced. We’re not spending what we need to be spending in our public schools to make sure that every child has access to a great public school education,” Underly said. “Our public schools out-perform our voucher schools. All of the evidence shows that if you’re attending a voucher school, you’re not going to do any better than kids in public school. So we need to make sure that perception is addressed.”
However, Underly said she would not pull students who currently rely on the program out of it – calling such a move ‘incredibly disruptive’ to their education.
Kerr also suggested de-centralizing the Department of Public Instruction and making it more of a regionally-focused agency. Underly isn’t quite on board with that idea.
“We do have offices already, throughout the state. That’s certainly something we could look at differently, but it would be disruptive to move everyone from Madison to wherever they’re working throughout the state. Especially as we’re coming out of the pandemic,” Underly said.
You can learn more about Deborah Kerr here.
And more about Jill Underly here.
