On April 2, Wisconsin voters will choose a state Supreme Court Justice and a State Superintendent of Public Instruction. In the Supreme Court race, Justice Pat Roggensack seeks to retain her seat against attorney and Marquette Law professor Ed Fallone. Current state superintendent Tony Evers is being challenged by state representative Don Pridemore. Their biographies and answers to several questions from WISTAX are reprinted beginning on page four.
On Tuesday April 2, Wisconsin voters will elect members of their city councils, village or town boards, and local school boards. In some parts of the state, they will also elect local judges.
However, two races have statewide impact. Voters will elect a Supreme Court Justice to serve for the next ten years. Justice Pat Rogensack is being challenged by attorney and law school professor Edward Fallone. In the race for State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Tony Evers faces Don Pridemore.
In an effort to inform voters, the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance asked candidates in both nonpartisan races about their backgrounds, why they are running, and other questions specific to their races. Their verbatim responses begin on page four.
First, though, is a discussion of state approaches to overseeing K-12 education. While most residents have a cursory understanding of Wisconsin’s system, they probably do not realize how different the Badger State approach is.
GOVERNING EDUCATION
In Wisconsin, K-12 education is overseen by a State Superintendent of Public Instruction, the only constitutional officer elected on a nonpartisan basis. The superintendent is elected to a four-year term as head of the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI). He or she is not a member of the governor’s cabinet.
How a state oversees and selects leaders for K-12 education can have wide-ranging implications. A selection process that is too political can affect public trust and hamper reform. However, if the state’s education and political leaders do not have the same vision, needed change may be difficult to achieve.