Wisconsin spring primary election guide: superintendent, school board
In Wisconsin’s primary election Tuesday, only one contest will be on every ballot: the race for the state school superintendent, a position held for over a decade by Gov. Tony Evers and his appointed successor.
Some Milwaukee voters will also make selections for school board positions and a county board seat.
Superintendent race
Seven candidates are vying for the superintendent position, a race that is drawing out-of-state donors and heated debates about voucher programs, inequities and racism in the education system, and how to reopen schools in a pandemic.
The new superintendent will craft budget proposals for education funding and may set guidance for districts on a number of issues, including pandemic safety, virtual learning, curriculum, teacher licensing and student discipline.
The top two candidates will advance to the April 6 spring election. The candidates are:
- Sheila Briggs: assistant state superintendent, former kindergarten teacher and principal in Madison.
- Joe Fenrick: science teacher at Fond du Lac High School, geology lecturer at UW-Oshkosh at Fond du Lac, Fond du Lac County supervisor.
- Troy Gunderson: adjunct professor of school finance at Viterbo University, former high school teacher, principal and superintendent for districts in Galesville and West Salem in western Wisconsin.
- Shandowlyon Hendricks-Williams: former teacher; administrator; assistant director of the Teacher Education, Professional Development and Licensing team at the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction; and director of Evers’ Milwaukee office after he became governor.
- Deborah Kerr: former superintendent of the School District of Brown Deer, president of the national School Superintendents Association and co-chair of the UW System Task Force for Advancing Teachers and School Leaders.
- Steve Krull: Milwaukee Public Schools principal, former Air Force instructor.
- Jill Underly: superintendent of the Pecatonica School District in southwest Wisconsin; former teacher, principal and assistant director of teacher education for the state Department of Public Instruction.
LEARN MORE:Seven candidates line up for state superintendent of schools post, with primary on Tuesday
Milwaukee School Board race
In Milwaukee, four of eight seats on the school board are up for election, with no incumbents in the race.
Two of the races have only one candidate on the ballot: Walker’s Point Center for the Arts executive director Marcela Garcia for the south side District 6 seat now held by Tony Baez; and MPS teacher Harry Leonard for the southwest District 7 seat held by Paula Phillips.
In District 4, incumbent Annie Woodward was taken off the ballot when election officials said they found numerous signatures on her nomination papers from people outside her district. Candidates for District 4 are:
- Aisha Carr: director of Milwaukee Succeeds Opportunity Youth Program, former director of community learning center for the Boys & Girls Clubs and MPS high school teacher.
- Cheryl Hayes: retired MPS teacher and GED coordinator, former leader of youth group Persons Expressing Problems.
- Dana Kelley: lead organizer of North Side Rising, a community organizing effort of Citizen Action of Wisconsin, assistant pastor of the Reviving Faith Movement Church.
- Victor Nwagbaraocha: former teacher and administrator in MPS and Racine Unified School District, founder of Positive Images nonprofit.
Board president Larry Miller of District 5 is not seeking reelection. Candidates for the seat are:
- Alex Brower: director of the Wisconsin Alliance for Retired Americans, substitute teacher for MPS.
- Abbie Fishman: retired MPS teacher at Riverside High School, with a role in the central office specializing in advanced academics.
- Jilly Gokalgandhi: strategic partnerships strategist at American Family Insurance, former Community Schools Coordinator for Bradley Tech High School.
- Kahri Phelps Okoro: treasurer of the Milwaukee Area Technical College Board of Directors, operations manager for Equity Supply Group, former MPS reading teacher.
The top two finishers will advance to the April 6 general election.
LEARN MORE:School board candidates share priorities, donors and endorsements
Milwaukee County Board special election
Five candidates are also running in Tuesday’s primary for Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors District 10. Former Supervisor Supreme Moore Omokunde resigned from the seat after he was elected to represent state Assembly District 17.
Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley in December called a special election to fill the vacancy on the County Board. District 10 encompasses a swath of Milwaukee from West Wisconsin Avenue on the south to West Congress Street on the north.
The candidates are Aleyah Anderson, Priscilla Coggs-Jones, James M. Ferguson II, Darrin Madison Jr. and Danielle McClendon….
Read More: Wisconsin spring primary election guide: superintendent, school board