Voters will choose between three educators in a mid-February primary election to decide who will continue on in the 2025 race to be the superintendent of the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.

On that Feb. 18 primary ballot, the incumbent Superintendent Dr. Jill Underly, a former teacher and education administrator who is seeking a second term, will face Sauk Prairie School District Superintendent Jeff Wright and Milwaukee-based education consultant Brittany Kinser.

The top two candidates from the primary election will then compete in the spring general election on April 1.

Among her various reasons for wanting to continue in the the job of administering the state’s public school system, Underly’s campaign website states that “the passion to help every child in Wisconsin discover their dreams and build their best life is what motivates her to lead the charge to make Wisconsin the best state for public education and to raise a family.”

On his campaign website, Wright said he believes that “our communities thrive when our schools thrive” and his related work experience will make sure he “focuses on deepening the core connections between schools, families, businesses and residents.”

And, in a press release, Kinser stated that she’s “committed to ensuring students can read, write, and do math skillfully. I want to restore high academic standards and make sure students have the skills they need for good jobs after graduation.”

According to Wisconsin state statutes, responsibilities for the State Superintendent of the Department of Public Instruction include leadership of the state’s 2,190 public schools and 421 public school districts, as well as teacher licensing, and disbursement of federal aid for schools. The superintendent position, which is a four-year term, also sets statewide education priorities and submits a biennial budget request for public education to the governor and State Legislature. The annual salary for the state superintendent of public schools is $132,351.

Underly emphasizes a long resume of education experience dating back to 1999. Her campaign website states she “has worked in all facets of public education, from elementary school principal, a middle and high school teacher, a school district superintendent, a university academic advisor and administrator, assistant director at the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.” She first won election to superintendent in 2021.

Wright’s campaign website lists that he was “recently named “2024 Administrator of the Year” by the Wisconsin Rural Schools Alliance” and that he was “first a Social Studies teacher and one of Disney’s American Teacher Award honorees” and “after earning a degree from Harvard University, Jeff served as a high school principal on the south side of Chicago.”

Aside from owning an education consulting business, Kinser’s LinkedIn profile lists previous positions as leading Wisconsin’s Rocketship Public Schools, which are part of a national network of public charter schools and that she was a past president of City Forward Collective, a Milwaukee nonprofit that advocates for and funds charter schools. An email from her campaign states Kinser “has taught both science and special education in public schools” and “was an innovative principal at a public school serving low-income communities, then-State Superintendent Tony Evers honored her with the ‘Beating the Odds’ award.”

Although the position is described as non-partisan, the job of running the state’s public school system is anything but apolitical. This is largely because of school system funding battles between the governor and the state Legislature, but also due to high-profile contemporary political issues that include transgender student policies, school library book access and bans, police in schools, and other contentious matters.

Six weeks in advance of the primary vote, Underly has received the endorsement of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. Meanwhile, the political action committee of the Wisconsin Education Association Council — a statewide teachers’ union — recommended Wright receive its endorsement, but the full organization has not yet endorsed a candidate. Upon Kinser filing for candidacy, WisPolitics reported that she described herself as a moderate Democrat but she refused to claim any political affiliation when asked by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Given that the Wisconsin Legislature and governor’s office are creating new biennial state budget proposals and will be negotiating over specifics in the first half of 2025, Underly submitted her financial request for the Department of Public Instruction in November 2024 and is asking for an additional $4 billion in state funding over the next two years. The 2023-25 budget for the agency alloted almost $9 billion for state schools annually.

Whoever wins the superintendent race will take office in early July, which is roughly around the same time frame that the governor has signed the state budget into law during the last two bienniums.