State superintendent candidate Deb Kerr gets St Francis District post jsonline.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from jsonline.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
In a contentious race that has drummed up millions of dollars for campaigning and attack ads, Deborah Kerr and Jill Underly will face off April 6 for the top position overseeing K-12 education in Wisconsin.
The winner will replace current state superintendent Carolyn Stanford Taylor, who was appointed by Tony Evers when he left the post to become governor. Taylor did not seek to keep the position.
Kerr, former superintendent of Brown Deer Schools, has been backed by former Gov. Scott Walker and other conservatives, though she self-identified as a “pragmatic Democrat.” Left-leaning groups and politicians have aligned with Underly, superintendent of the Pecatonica School District in southwest Wisconsin.
Jill Underly to become next Wisconsin superintendent of schools Rory Linnane and Devi Shastri, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Jill Underly, the Democratic Party-backed superintendent of Pecatonica School District, defeated former Brown Deer Schools superintendent Deborah Kerr Tuesday to become the state’s top education official.
As of 9:30 p.m., Underly had 372,228 votes while Kerr had 281,469. About 66% of precincts were reporting results, with absentee ballots still left to be counted. Nevertheless, Underly declared victory and Kerr called her late in the evening to concede.
Underly will start the job in July, taking over for Carolyn Stanford Taylor, who was appointed to the state superintendent position by Tony Evers when he became governor. Evers held the post for nearly a decade.
Jill Underly, the Democratic Party-backed superintendent of Pecatonica School District, defeated former Brown Deer Schools superintendent Deborah Kerr Tuesday to become the state’s top education official.
As of 9:30 p.m., Underly had 372,228 votes while Kerr had 281,469. About 66% of precincts were reporting results, with absentee ballots still left to be counted. Nevertheless, Underly declared victory and Kerr called her late in the evening to concede.
Underly will start the job in July, taking over for Carolyn Stanford Taylor, who was appointed to the state superintendent position by Tony Evers when he became governor. Evers held the post for nearly a decade.
Jill Underly, the Democratic Party-backed superintendent of Pecatonica School District, defeated Deb Kerr, the Betsy DeVos-backed former Brown Deer Schools superintendent, Tuesday to become the state’s top education official.
Underly’s campaign spent seven times what Kerr’s campaign spent. Outside groups spent almost four times as much on ads in Underly’s favor than in Kerr’s favor. The American Federation for Children, a lobbying group founded by the family of former President Donald Trump s Education Secretary DeVos, poured money in on Kerr s side.
The level of spending over $1 million in ads alone was unprecedented for a Wisconsin superintendent race.