Tony Evers Faces Competition in State Superintendent Election
Tony Evers, a candidate for the 26th Wisconsin State Superintendent of Public Instruction. Photo courtesy of urbanmilwuakee.com

Tony Evers Faces Competition in State Superintendent Election

Last week Betsy DeVos was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the new Secretary of Education but the equivalent position for the state of Wisconsin is up for election this spring.

On Feb. 21, candidates will fight for the top two spots to be in the general election in April.

There are three main candidates running for office. The incumbent, Tony Evers, John Humphries and Lowell Holtz.

Tony Evers has been the Wisconsin State Superintendent of Public Instruction since 2009.

Four years ago Evers won his reelection by approximately 23 points. Now, four years later, he faces tough opposition.

John Humphries, a candidate for the 26th Wisconsin State Superintendent of Public Instruction. Photo courtesy of humphriesforschools.org

John Humphries, a candidate for the 26th Wisconsin State Superintendent of Public Instruction. Photo courtesy of humphriesforschools.org

Humphries, a UW-Madison alumnus, has worked in a variety of schools and wants a fresh voice that will bring change and accountability.

Throughout his campaign, Humphries has been a strong critic of Tony Evers’ time in charge.

“It’s time for Tony Evers to be held accountable for statewide outcomes,” Humphries wrote Jan. 12  in a Facebook post.

“We’ve dropped from a top 10 state in elementary reading to 30th in the nation under his watch while other states have made substantial gains.”

Despite what Humphries claims, this is actually objectively false.

WI has dropped in reading since 1998, but not under Evers’ watch. Unless you consider “under Evers” to begin in 2001.

Lowell Holtz has been an elementary school teacher, principal and district administrator.

Dr. Lowell Holtz, candidate for the 26th Wisconsin State Superintendent of Public Instruction. Photo courtesy of twitter.com/kidservative

Dr. Lowell Holtz, candidate for the 26th Wisconsin State Superintendent of Public Instruction. Photo courtesy of twitter.com/kidservative

 

Holtz has been a strong advocate for DeVos as the national version of the job he is running for, as shown in the chart below.

The biggest change Holtz wants to bring to school children and their parents is school choice.

School choice has been a controversial issue throughout the country, it would allow parents to send their kids to whatever school they choose no matter their location.

Tony Evers has the biggest contrast to Humphries and Holtz, who mostly share the same values.

Evers has been caught in multiple flip flop moments with his stances on Common Core, private school vouchers and school choice.

Common Core has been opposed on all sides of the political spectrum but Evers is still campaigning on it’s continued implication for public schools.

Out of all the candidates running for State Superintendent, Evers is the only one who has spoken out against DeVos for Education Secretary.

The primary election is held next Tuesday Feb. 21. Polling locations can be found by going to the website myvote.wi.gov.

Bellow is a chart depicting various stances of each candidate as they run for the position. The final election will be held on Apr. 4.

 

Candidates: Tony Evers John Humphries Lowell Holtz
School Choice No Support Support
Common Core Support No No
Teacher’s Unions Support No No
Private School Vouchers No Support Support
Betsy DeVos No Support Support

 

Wesley Hortenbach

Reporter

Whort350@uwsp.edu

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