As state lawmakers and Gov. Tony Evers continue trying to hatch a deal to fund public K-12 schools and reduce property taxes, Sauk Prairie School District Superintendent Jeff Wright said communities across the state can wait no longer. Marquette Law School Poll Director Charles Franklin said most respondents in early 2026 polling haven’t heard enough about candidates in the spring and fall elections to form an opinion.

Jeff Wright
Superintendent, Sauk Prairie School District

• Superintendents across Wisconsin have been pressing the state to increase funding for K-12 schools so districts don’t have to repeatedly go to referendums for more money to operate, which when approved by voters applies directly to property tax bills. Wright is among those calling for urgent action and was disappointed a plan was not developed before one chamber of the Legislature adjourned.
• Wright: “We were really disappointed and in part because they adjourned the session in the second, third week of February, and we talked about that with some of our students that that would be similar to us ending the school year after homecoming. There’s so much of this year left that the Legislature and the governor could be working together to solve these long-standing problems, not only using the state surplus that exists now to solve property tax relief and school district finance in the short term, but also sitting down and doing the serious work of trying to address long-term concerns about the state school finance formula.”

Charles Franklin
Director, Marquette Law School Poll

• The takeaway from Marquette Law School Poll results released on Feb. 26 is that less than two months away from the April 7 statewide election for a Wisconsin Supreme Court seat, two-thirds of respondents don’t know enough about candidates Maria Lazar and Chris Taylor to form an opinion. In the crowded race for governor, many of the candidates also don’t register in a significant way with people polled. Franklin said at least in that race, voters have eight months before the election.
• Franklin: “It is unusually low engagement this year. It’s not nearly as high as it was a year ago or in the gubernatorial races as in, say, 2018 or 2022. So we do seem a little less engaged right now. Some of that is that the advertising has not really kicked in in the Supreme Court race compared to where it was a year ago. This time, only 6% said they’d heard or read a lot about the Supreme Court race. A year ago, that was 39% at this same time in February. So I think those things will pick up, but we’re getting started a bit slower than we did a year ago.”

Watch new episodes of Here & Now at 7:30 p.m. on Fridays.