Seven candidates for state superintendent faced off in the first online forum ahead of a Feb. 16 primary on issues such as learning amid the COVID-19 pandemic and how to eliminate inequities in public education.
Candidates Sheila Briggs, Joe Fenrick, Troy Gunderson, Shandowlyon Hendricks-Williams, Deborah Kerr, Steve Krull and Jill Underly answered questions posed by Wisconsinites from across the state in the two-hour forum Thursday, organized and co-sponsored by the nonpartisan Wisconsin Public Education Network and the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin.
Prior to the event, each candidate answered additional questions through a survey issued by the Wisconsin Public Education Network. They tackled subjects such as how to personalize learning to meet individual student needs, how to ensure all students feel safe in their schools and how to address special-education needs.
Briggs, the current assistant state superintendent, said she would prioritize a COVID-19 recovery plan and work with state lawmakers to get the Department of Public Instruction’s funding request into the 2021-23 state budget.

Briggs
“It will be so important that we do not let the cost of this pandemic be balanced on the backs of our teachers or our kids,” she said.
Fenrick, an educator and Fond du Lac County Board supervisor, said he would focus on returning students to class safely and getting rid of standardized tests.

Fenrick
“There’s too much testing going on,” he said. “We need a lot more hands-on learning in our classrooms.”
Gunderson, former West Salem School District superintendent, said he would prioritize equality in education across the state’s urban-rural divide.

Gunderson
“I’m best suited to unite the entire state around the collective commitment of providing public education to improve the lives of each one of our children within the schools in our state,” he said.
Hendricks-Williams, former director of the Milwaukee Office of the Governor and a former special-education teacher, said she plans to include a $350 rebate to parents for expenses incurred during COVID-19 for school supplies and internet access, and prioritize diversifying teaching staff in Wisconsin schools.

Hendricks-Williams
“I am the only candidate that began as a paraprofessional and worked at the Milwaukee Office of the Governor,” she said. “I’ll bring all of that knowledge, skill, and my disposition as the best candidate, as Wisconsin’s first elected Black state superintendent.”
Kerr, former superintendent of the Brown Deer School District, said she would leverage her relationships within the Legislature to improve education.

Kerr
“Education is a nonpartisan matter,” she said. “We need to get past some of these deep issues that divide us. We need to stay focused on equity, inclusion, antiracism and social justice because all of our kids are important to the success of our Wisconsin schools.”
Krull, an Air Force veteran and principal of Milwaukee’s Garland Elementary School, said he would, within his first 100 days, work with lawmakers to reform funding for schools.

Krull
“Until we address our school finances, this other stuff that we’re talking about, we just don’t have the money to do it,” he said.
Underly, Pecatonica district administrator, said she would enact a statewide plan to reopen schools safely and establish a cabinet-level equity officer.

Underly
“I would get regular meetings, discussions and listening sessions on the calendar, monthly, between Wisconsin Public Education Network, the Rural Schools Alliance, WEAC, WASDA, WASB and DPI as well as our legislative liaisons so we can work together to solve policy issues,” she said.
School vouchers, school choice
State superintendent races are nonpartisan, but splits tend to form between Democratic-backed supporters of public schools and candidates with conservative support who often advocate for taxpayer-funded vouchers and school choice programs.
Asked about their support for private school vouchers and independent charter schools in two separate yes or no questions, most of the candidates said they do not support either.
Henricks-Williams said she “supports great schools” when asked about support for private school vouchers, and that she supports “parents’ option for enrolling their child in a high performing school” when asked about support of independent charter schools.
Kerr said she supports “one system of accountability and full transparency because this is the law” when asked about private school vouchers.
Briggs said she doesn’t support independent charter schools under the current system.
Broad powers
The superintendent position oversees the Department of Public Instruction, which has broad powers in managing the state’s public school system. The seat is open for the first time in over a decade after Gov. Tony Evers, who won statewide elections to head the agency for three consecutive four-year terms, assumed Wisconsin’s highest office.
Current state Superintendent Carolyn Stanford Taylor was appointed by Evers in January 2019 after he won the 2018 governor’s race. She decided not to seek election this year.
The winners of the Feb. 16 primary will be invited back for a more in-depth forum before the April election.
Photos: How Midwest schools are navigating COVID-19

Lupe Ramirez speaks at a small rally in front of city hall in East Chicago, Indiana, on Thursday, Nov. 12. She and others were there to speak out against alleged intimidation tactics employed by members of the East Chicago School Board.

Alex Watkins holds a sign at a small rally in front of the East Chicago City Hall on Thursday, Nov. 12. She and a small group gathered to speak out against alleged intimidation tactics employed by members of the East Chicago School Board.

With help from an interactive video board, HAST instructor Mira Projovic lectures remote high school students during a Women's Studies course on Sept. 24 in Hammond, Indiana.

Following a lecture for his science course, Hammond (Indiana) Academy of Science and Technology instructor Steve Grimm gives two thumbs-up to his remote eighth grade students on Sept. 22.

Lowell student fans are spaced apart in the student section as they cheer on the Red Devils against Portage on Aug. 29 in Lowell, Indiana.

Despite the rather unusual conditions, students remain diligent in their studies at Duneland Boys & Girls Club on Aug. 28 in Chesterton, Indiana. Boys & Girls Clubs have stepped up to fill child care needs in virtual learning communities.

A student waits for assistance from a Duneland Boys & Girls Club staff member on Aug. 28 in Chesterton, Indiana. Boys & Girls Clubs have stepped up to fill child care needs in virtual learning communities.

Nurse Lisa Bosnak dons gloves to clean her desk area after a sick student left the nurse's office at Lake Central High School on Aug. 21 in St. John, Indiana. Lake Central students returned to class this week. Nurses in some schools are taking the lead on contact tracing.

Nurse Lisa Bosnak uses disinfectant wipes to clean the area in her office after a sick student was sent home Aug. 21 at Lake Central High School in St. John, Indiana. Nurses in some schools are taking the lead on contact tracing.

Nurses Carla VanDerNoord, left, and Lisa Bosnak compare notes while updating data related to whether students are on campus or e-learning Aug. 21 at Lake Central High School in St. John, Indiana. Nurses in some schools are taking the lead on contact tracing.

Nurse Carla VanDerNoord updates student information relating to whether they are on campus or currently e-learning Aug. 21 in the nurse's office at Lake Central High School in St. John, Indiana. Nurses in some schools are taking the lead on contact tracing.

Munster students use plastic buffer shields and social distancing in Hannah Fus’ American Sign Language class in August. The School Town of Munster was one of Northwest Indiana's first districts to reopen this August with in-person learning. Munster Schools are transitioning back to virtual learning through early December.

Munster High School students set up three-sided plastic buffers on their desks in Kelly Barnes’ English 9 classroom in August. The School Town of Munster was one of Northwest Indiana's first districts to reopen this August with in-person learning. Munster Schools are transitioning back to virtual learning through early December.

Munster High School Principal Michael Wells stands in the hallway near the main entrance in August as students pass for their next class. The School Town of Munster was one of Northwest Indiana's first districts to reopen this August with in-person learning. Munster Schools are transitioning back to virtual learning through early December.

Munster High School teacher Kelly Barnes logs in with her virtual learning students during her English 9 class in August. The School Town of Munster was one of Northwest Indiana's first districts to reopen this August with in-person learning. Munster Schools are transitioning back to virtual learning through early December.

In Central Illinois, a McLean County Unit District No. 5 school bus is operated by a driver wearing a mask on Friday.

Special Education teacher Dustin Underwood fills in as a substitute culinary arts teacher at Normal Community West High School in Central Illinois on Nov. 6.

Vehicles are lined up outside Grove Elementary School in Normal on Oct. 19, the first day of school. Parents were not allowed inside due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Susy Marcum, school nurse at Grove Elementary School in Normal, Illinois, works inside "The Bubble," a quarantine area set up in a classroom for her nurses station on Oct. 19, the first day of school. Students will isolate in the area until a parent can pick him or her up from school.

In Normal, Illinois, Grove Elementary School music teacher Gabe Myers, left, welcomes Laila Abouelmagd, 5, to kindergarten, as her grandmother, Dolores Callahan, and father, Mohamed Abouelmagd, unload her school supplies on Oct. 19.

Karlie Underwood, 17, a senior at Heyworth High School in Central Illinois, makes a podcast on Oct. 16.

Masked students leave Racine Lutheran High School on Thursday afternoon. It might have been one of the last times students at Racine Lutheran will be able to attend classes in person in 2020, since the city of Racine Health Department announced Thursday it would order all schools in its jurisdiction — both public and private — to close their buildings after Thanksgiving.

Madison Preschool of the Arts second-graders -- from left, Carl Pevehouse, Charlotte Austin and Gabe Mahaffey -- work on self-portraits, which includes showing their face masks. The early childhood center on Madison's West Side has pivoted to help families juggling jobs and assisting their elementary-age children with online learning.

Sherry White directs students to and from vehicles and the building on Friday at Warrensburg-Latham Elementary School in Central Illinois.

Sherry White directs students to vehicles during staggered times to allow safe distance for students at Warrensburg-Latham Elementary School in Central Illinois.

Third-grader Myleigh Taylor leaves school Warrensburg-Latham Elementary School in Central Illinois on Friday.

Fifth-grader Braden Brown heads to his parents' car after school on Friday at Warrensburg-Latham Elementary School in Central Illinois. Parents pick up students during staggered times.

UW freshmen, from left, Elinor Picek, Lauren Sullivan and Audrey Sarasin use a timer to take photos around Camp Randall prior to kickoff of the Badgers' season opener against Illinois in Madison on Oct. 23. COVID-19 cases and positivity rates have been creeping upward on campus since late last month.

A sign on Madison Area Technical College's Truax campus in October informs students of COVID-19 protocols.

Illinois State University students test for COVID-19 on Aug. 24 in Normal.

Sioux Falls, South Dakota, freshman Ramsey Folkerts carries boxes into a dorm Aug. 21 on the campus of Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois. The school has had to adapt numerous policies this academic year because of COVID.

Eastern Illinois University students Jenna Decker, from left, Katelyn Montgomery and Madeline McQueen walk around campus on Aug. 20 during move-in day.