MILWAUKEE – The two remaining candidates for Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction squared off Thursday ahead of the only statewide race in the April 6 spring election.

Deborah Kerr, a retired superintendent most recently in Brown Deer, advanced from the February 15 primary along with Jill Underly, the current superintendent for the Pecatonica Area School District.

The Greater Milwaukee Committee hosted the virtual candidate forum Thursday via Zoom. Alan Borsuk, a senior fellow in law and public policy at Marquette, moderated the hourlong discussion.

Predictably, both candidates said returning Wisconsin students to the classroom is their top priority.

“As a parent and as an educator, of course I’m worried about this past year,” Underly said. “I’m more concerned with their mental health, their isolation, their anxiety and how we can help them recover from those feelings.”

Kerr said her top two priorities are reopening all schools and make up for lost classroom time by accelerating curricula during the next school year.

“Some of our kids are going to be over one year behind, and we already knew that there were many, many inequities, especially in Milwaukee, that we need to deal with,” Kerr said.

On the topic of school choice voucher programs, Underly said she would advocate for freezing private school enrollment from taxpayer-funded vouchers. The Pecatonica Area superintendent said the money saved should be allocated to struggling public school systems rather than private school tuition.

“I’m not looking to take away a voucher from somebody who already has one,” Underly said. “But we need to acknowledge also that a lot of voucher schools have had huge problems, and we need to make sure that we hold every penny of tax dollars accountable.”

Kerr pointed out the voucher program as a magnet for controversy for the past four decades. She said she plans to work with all stakeholders to reform the programs where necessary.

“We’ve got to stop arguing with one another,” Kerr said. “I understand the concerns with the funding, so let’s try to come to the table and reach consensus with how we can make a change.”

Underly touted a recent endorsement from the Wisconsin Education Association Council (WEAC), Wisconsin’s largest teachers union. Kerr said it should not be a dealbreaker in the race, saying she has worked well with teachers but is beholden to students and parents before unions.

The next state superintendent will have to navigate the deep divide between the Republican-led legislature and Democratic governor Tony Evers, a former superintendent himself. Each candidate said as administrators they developed positive relationships with members of both major parties, and said building a strong public school system should not be a partisan issue.

Either Kerr or Underly will replace Carolyn Stanford Taylor, who did not seek reelection after Evers appointed her when he left the post to become governor in 2019.