Latest news with #BrittanyKinser
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Everything you need to know about the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction superintendent race
It may not be receiving the same kind of national interest as the Wisconsin Supreme Court race, but the race for the superintendent of the state Department of Public Instruction is also important for Wisconsin residents, as the winner will lead the agency that provides oversight for the state's 421 public school districts. Incumbent Jill Underly was elected in 2021 and is facing her first challenger in education consultant Brittany Kinser. The two faced off in just one debate this spring, where they touched on vouchers, the teacher shortage and more. We've covered the candidates since December, looking at the issues weighing on the minds of voters statewide, including changes to state testing standards, how much money the candidates have raised — and how much came from the Democratic and Republican parties — the importance (or nonimportance) of licensing for the position and candidates' involvement in events intended to inform the public about their stances. Here's a look at that coverage. March 20, 2025: Who is Jill Underly? What to know about the state school superintendent candidate before the April 1 election March 21, 2025: State superintendent Jill Underly is fierce defender of public schools amid Trump cuts March 20, 2025: Who is Brittany Kinser? What to know about the state school superintendent candidate before the April 1 election March 21, 2025: She's never run for office. Can state superintendent candidate Brittany Kinser pull it off? March 25, 2025: Wisconsin state superintendent voter guide for spring 2025 election: What candidates say about vouchers, MPS and more Dec. 19, 2024: A primary race could be shaping up for Wisconsin's top education official Jan. 8, 2025: 3 candidates file paperwork to run for state superintendent of public instruction, prompting February primary Jan. 24, 2025: As state education agency cuts costs, DPI superintendent race heats up Feb. 5, 2025: Wisconsin state superintendent voter guide for spring 2025 primary: What 3 candidates say about ICE, school police, referendums and more Feb. 18, 2025: Jill Underly, Brittany Kinser advance in Wisconsin state superintendent race Feb. 6, 2025: She's running to lead Wisconsin schools. But she doesn't have a teacher's license. Does it matter? Jan. 6, 2025: Gov. Tony Evers calls it a 'mistake' to change state test score benchmarks Jan. 31, 2025: What to know about Wisconsin's change in state test scores and the GOP push to restore previous benchmarks March 5, 2025: Republicans order audit into state's school report cards March 18, 2025: Senate votes to undo Jill Underly's changes to state tests, sending issue in DPI race to Evers Feb. 7, 2025: State superintendent skips forum while her challengers take questions on vouchers and more March 13, 2025: State superintendent Jill Underly, running for reelection, turns down three debate invites Feb. 13, 2025: In Wisconsin school superintendent race, one candidate is far ahead in fundraising March 26, 2025: In state superintendent race, one candidate doubles fundraising haul of opponent March 3, 2025: Democratic operative Sachin Chheda leaving state education department Kristin Brey contributed. Contact Kelly Meyerhofer at kmeyerhofer@ or 414-223-5168. Follow her on X (Twitter) at @KellyMeyerhofer. Contact Hope Karnopp at HKarnopp@ or on X at @hopekarnopp. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Jill Underly, Brittany Kinser face off in state superintendent election
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
State Superintendent candidate Brittany Kinser weighs in on MPS a week out from election
Brittany Kinser discussed her plans for leading the state education department at a forum with reporters Tuesday. On many issues she said she "is not an expert" and would need to learn school classroom. (Dan Forer | Getty Images) State Superintendent candidate Brittany Kinser said Tuesday she would support Milwaukee schools and advocate for reform to the state funding formula if elected, but declined to explain what she would specifically advocate for, saying that she needs more information and isn't an expert. Kinser, an education consultant, is challenging incumbent Jill Underly for the nonpartisan position in the April 1 election. The state superintendent is responsible for overseeing the state's 421 public school districts, leading the state Department of Public Instruction and has a seat on the University of Wisconsin Board of Regent. At an hour-long event hosted by the Milwaukee Press Club, the Rotary Club of Milwaukee and WisPolitics, Kinser answered questions from WisPolitics President Jeff Mayers and the audience about her stances. Both DPI candidates were invited to take part, but Underly declined. The two candidates participated in a conversation hosted by other groups last week. Kinser has outraised her opponent partially due to the contributions she's brought in from the Republican Party. According to recent campaign finance filings, Kinser raised $1,859,360 from Feb. 4 through Mar. 17. The Republican Party of Wisconsin contributed $1.65 million, and other political organizations $8,380, while individuals contributed $200,980. Underly raised $1,063,866 in the same time period, with $850,000 coming from the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. Mayers asked Kinser, who has previously called herself a moderate, whether the support makes her 'uncomfortable' because she is being cast 'as the conservative Republican individual' in the race. 'I'm very thankful for all of my supporters. I'm thankful for the Republicans, the Democrats, the independents who have supported me,' Kinser said. Kinser spoke to some of the issues that Milwaukee Public Schools, the state's largest school district, has faced in recent years, including the financial crisis that led to audits by the state, recent results from the 'nation's report card' that show wide racial achievement gaps in the district, and reports of lead in schools. Kinser, who has worked in the charter school sector in Milwaukee in the past and is from Wauwatosa, has repeatedly criticized her opponent for problems in the district. Kinser said she thinks some of the problems are a result of the governance and leadership of the district and said she is excited about the recently hired MPS superintendent. Brenda Cassellius, a former superintendent of Boston Public Schools and former Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Education, started her tenure earlier this month — taking over a vacancy left by the former superintendent who resigned after details emerged of a financial crisis at the district. 'We all need to support her because her successes are children's success, so we need to make sure that she has the support she needs,' Kinser said. She said she hasn't spoken to Cassellius yet. 'I've been a little busy, but I hope to meet her,' Kinser said. 'If I get elected, she'll be definitely on the top of my list to reach out to.' Kinser said that she hopes Cassellius will 'create very clear goals on what she wants to see with operations and academics, financials, and that she can meet those goals.' If the problems persist after some time, that would be the time for the state to step in, she said. Kinser said she hasn't supported splitting up the district — as Republicans have proposed in the past — but she would be open to discussing the possibility. 'I think that would actually cause more bureaucracy,' Kinser said. 'If that's what the community wanted, I'd be supportive as long as we could show the kids would have better results, that kids can learn how to read, they're not going to be poisoned by lead — all of those things.' Kinser said she wants to open a DPI office in Milwaukee to work with the district. When it comes to funding, Kinser said MPS gets a lot of money per child, but said special education is underfunded. 'I want to make sure we have an increase,' Kinser said. She has said that she thinks the current reimbursement model for special education costs is outdated and would want to look to other states to see if there is another way to do it. Kinser again said that she would want to help modernize the state funding formula, but she didn't provide specific suggestions. She said she would want to look at other states and consult with others when asked about her ideas for modernizing the funding formula. She named Florida, Colorado as states with funding models she would want to look at. 'I would hire someone to help me do this work because I am not a financial expert in school funding and so would have to look and see what they're doing in other states,' Kinser said. She also emphasized that the ultimate decision wouldn't be made by the state superintendent. 'We could provide ideas. The Legislature and the governor have to sign off. I'm not a lawmaker,' Kinser said. 'People talk about this role as if it were a lawmaker.' While the state superintendent recommends an education budget, the final proposal comes from the governor's office. For the 2025-27 budget, which state lawmakers will take up starting in April, Underly submitted a proposal to increase public education by $4 billion. Gov. Tony Evers trimmed that back to more than $3 billion before submitting his draft budget. Kinser declined to weigh in on whether Evers' recommendation was 'right or wrong.' 'I haven't created my own state budget,' said Kinser, who is making her first run for public office. 'I just started this 100 days ago, but I would want to make sure that it's something that is possible because you want to be taken seriously by the Legislature and the governor.' Across the state, many school districts have held referendum votes in the last couple of years to increase local property taxes, covering budget shortfalls. Kinser said she agrees there are too many referendums, but also said she hadn't thought about whether the state is relying too much on property taxes for school funding. Asked if the state should rely more on sales tax or the income tax to fund schools, Kinser said she thinks the state would probably need to rely on both. 'I don't know. Like I'm telling you, I'm not an expert in that,' Kinser said. 'I promise to learn more about it [and] try to find the best way for communities, but I don't want to say something that I'm not an expert in.' She added that she would seek advice on such matters. 'I promise to have experts around me to answer these questions that you're [asking], talk with Republicans, Democrats, independents, anyone that owns a home, that has children, worried about their kids,' Kinser said. Kinser has never held a teacher's license in Wisconsin, and she recently updated her Wisconsin administrator's license after a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel report that her license had lapsed in 2024. She emphasized that there is no requirement in state law that the state superintendent hold a teacher's or administrator's license 'We're not trying to be a teacher or a principal in the school. You don't need that. You just need to be a citizen of Wisconsin,' Kinser said. She added that she has a varied background with experience as a special education teacher as well as a charter school principal and leader, but that getting licensed in Wisconsin was difficult. Kinser, who supports school choice and has lobbied for increased funding to voucher schools, was also asked about a report from the Journal Sentinel published Tuesday morning. The report found that a Milwaukee-based virtual private school received millions of dollars from the state despite being virtual — blurring the lines between the state voucher program, which uses state funds to send students to private and charter schools, and homeschooling, which isn't eligible for state funding. 'Does that bother you as an educator that there's this virtual school that's getting this much state money?' Mayer asked. 'I would have to look into this,' Kinser said. 'I did not read the article today. I was not made aware. Sounds like there's some controversy there.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
She's never run for office. Can state superintendent candidate Brittany Kinser pull it off?
Brittany Kinser's work in Wisconsin began with a lot of door-knocking. It was 2013, and she was the principal of a new charter school opening on the city's South Side. She needed students and lacked a big marketing budget to recruit them in a highly competitive school landscape. So she printed off a Google map of homes in the area and knocked on doors to talk to families about their education options. Kinser, 47, is knocking on Wisconsin doors again. She's seeking voters this time around, not students. Kinser is running to be state superintendent of public instruction, challenging incumbent Jill Underly, a Democrat, in the April 1 election. Her career up to this point has mostly been in the classroom or school administration, including nearly a decade in Chicago Public Schools and about 15 years with charter schools. She's currently an education consultant focused on literacy initiatives. "I know how to start a school, but I don't know how to run for office," she said. Kinser officially jumped into the race last December with little political experience, no war chest and no campaign team. She also lacked a party affiliation, at least initially. Kinser volunteered for Barack Obama in 2008. Her campaign donation history shows support for both sides of the aisle, from Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin to former Republican legislator Dale Kooyenga. Kinser calls herself a moderate and is backed by conservative groups, including at least $200,000 from the state Republican Party so far. She is campaigning alongside Brad Schimel, the conservative candidate in the state Supreme Court race. High turnout in that race, coupled with a sense of public fatigue over the status quo in education, could disrupt the historical pattern of Democratic-aligned candidates comfortably cruising to victory in state superintendent races. Kinser's campaign arose out of frustration over how how few children can read and how long the problem has persisted. Only 39% of Wisconsin students were considered proficient in 2022-23. She was angry, and went for a run last summer. There, the idea of running for state superintendent came to her. The miles passed, and it wouldn't go away. "I could just stand on the sidelines and keep complaining and texting people and being mad, or I can jump into this race and take action, right?" she asked. Raised in Crystal Lake, Illinois, Kinser was the daughter of two Democrats. Her childhood dream was to be the doctor who cured AIDS. A visit in eighth grade to a school where a friend's brother with special needs was enrolled changed her mind. Kinser earned her bachelor's degree in special education from Eastern Illinois University in 1999, then joined Chicago Public Schools as a special education teacher. After seven years in the classroom, she became an instructional coach for the district. A colleague of Kinser's was in the midst of opening a math and science academy through a Chicago public charter school network. She invited Kinser to tour some of the network's existing schools, a suggestion Kinser initially responded to with horror because of what she'd heard from her years in the Chicago Teachers Union. Kinser's colleague wore her down, and she eventually agreed to a tour. She found the school welcoming, so she took a job coaching new teachers in science and special education within the charter network. The charter school job marked a turning point in Kinser's career, one that eventually led her to Wisconsin. Three years into the job with the Chicago charter school, Kinser got an offer in 2012 to work with Rocketship Schools, a nonprofit charter school chain based in California. When Rocketship decided to launch its first school outside the state in Milwaukee, they tapped Kinser to open it. Former Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce President Tim Sheehy has been on the school's board of directors since its founding. He remembered sitting in a classroom full of rowdy kindergartners and a new teacher during the first year. Kinser walked in and took control, coaching the teacher and calming the students. "It's hard to describe the chaos of starting a new school, which made her leadership even more impressive," he said. She made more decisions than a traditional public school principal, from budgeting to hiring to fundraising. Charter schools are public schools that get some freedom from traditional rules. In exchange for delivering higher-than-average student results, they don't have to answer to traditionally elected school boards. Critics say charters poach students and siphon public money away from traditional public schools. More: Here's what charter schools are and how they work in Wisconsin Rocketship Wisconsin showed promising signs in its early years. About 29% of Rocketship students scored proficient or advanced in English/language arts on the state Forward exam in 2015-16, compared to 19% in Milwaukee Public Schools and 43% across Wisconsin. But scores have dropped in more recent years, according to state data. About 15% of Rocketship students scored proficient or advanced on the same exam in 2022-23 compared to 16% in Milwaukee Public Schools and 39% for Wisconsin. Kinser acknowledged the lost ground, which she attributed to a shift away from evidence-based curriculum, such as the science of reading. She left Rocketship in 2022 to lead City Forward Collective, a Milwaukee education nonprofit. Underly's campaign has blasted Kinser's Rocketship work, pointing to a 2016 investigation by NPR that examined the charter chain's emphasis on technology and test scores. The story described instances in which students retook tests to boost scores, a company policy tying some of teachers' pay to growth in test scores and limited bathroom breaks to maximize learning time. Kinser's campaign called the story a "debunked blog post" that was "riddled with errors." The charter network CEO responded in an op-ed that there few retakes approved, no company policy on bathroom breaks and a 90% student return rate that demonstrated high satisfaction with Rocketship. Kinser consulted with both Democratic and Republican operatives ahead of jumping into the race. About 70% told her not to run, she said. They warned of political attacks, which landed even before last month's primary, when Kinser's opponents drew attention to her credentials. An educator's license is not required to serve as state superintendent. Kinser had an administrator's license when she led Rocketship. But it expired last summer, and she's never had a Wisconsin teacher's license. (Kinser applied late last month for the renewal of her administrator's license, according to DPI records.) Colleston Morgan worked with Kinser when she led City Forward Collective. The nonprofit advocates for and funds charter schools and vouchers. It also pushes for increased school accountability measures. Morgan said Kinser builds relationships with both political parties. Morgan and Kinser lobbied for a school funding bill in spring 2023. He remembered a Republican legislative leader laughing when Kinser said she wanted a $200 million increase in state payments to independent charter schools and voucher payments that cover the cost of tuition for students from lower-income families to attend private schools. The money would help close the gap between what public schools receive on a per-pupil basis, and what charters and vouchers receive. Democratic Gov. Tony Evers signed the bill into law as part of a broader package that saved Milwaukee from a fiscal crisis. The plan included $250 million for charters and vouchers, in addition to boosts for about half of Wisconsin's public school districts that historically had received the least base funding. The GOP lawmaker, whom Morgan declined to name, came up to Kinser afterward, saying he had laughed because he really didn't think it would get done. "Very few people want to do bad things for kids in this work, but I would say it's not as many people who are able to actually truly translate those good intentions into impactful action inside of a political process," Morgan said. "And her ability to do that is as strong as anyone I've ever seen." Kelly Meyerhofer covers higher education in Wisconsin. Contact her at kmeyerhofer@ or 414-223-5168. Follow her on X (Twitter) at @KellyMeyerhofer. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Why Brittany Kinser is running for Wisconsin superintendent in 2025
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
State Superintendent candidates to participate in online forum Wednesday evening
Brittany Kinser headshot. Photo: courtesy of campaign. State Superintendent Jill Underly speaking at a rally in the Capitol. Photo: Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner. Incumbent State Superintendent Jill Underly and education consultant Brittany Kinser, who are competing in the April 1 election to lead the Department of Public Instruction, will both participate in a virtual forum Wednesday evening. Kinser agreed to join the forum after initially declining, making a meeting of the two candidates appear unlikely ahead of the April 1 election. Underly is running for her second term in office on a platform of supporting and investing more funding in public schools. She has the backing of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. Kinser, an advocate for the state's school choice program, says she wants to work to improve reading and math education and raise state testing standards. She has the backing of the Wisconsin Republican Party and financial backing from prominent GOP billionaire megadonors. A direct conversation between the two candidates seemed unlikely as of last week as Underly declined three invitations and Kinser declined an invitation for a forum hosted by the Wisconsin Public Education Network (WPEN), the NAACP, the League of Women's Voters and Wisconsin Early Childhood Action Needed. WPEN said in an email about the event that Kinser's campaign changed its mind and confirmed her appearance 'after clearing up some confusion and adjusting the timeline of the event.' The event is being held online at 7 p.m. on Wednesday and will be moderated by Kevin Lawrence Henry, Jr., Associate Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis at UW-Madison. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
24-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Eau Claire announces voter turnout for Primary Election
EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (WLAX/WEUX) – The city of Eau Claire says 11% of registered voters cast ballots in the February 18th Primary Election. That is little more than 5,000 voters in the city that braved the cold that day. The election was to decide who would appear on the ballot for State Superintendent of Public Instruction for April's Election. The candidates are now incumbent Jill Underly and contender Brittany Kinser. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
