MADISON, Wis.— After kids have missed a year of normal social and educational time at school, who leads Wisconsin’s Department of Public Instruction could be more important than ever. It’s the only statewide race on the ballot April 6. 

It’s technically a nonpartisan position, and therefore a nonpartisan race. But Democrats generally support Pecatonica superintendent Jill Underly. Republicans generally back former Brown Deer superintendent Deb Kerr. 

“It’s not a nonpartisan race, the way we're both running our campaigns,” said Kerr during a forum hosted by the Milwaukee Press Club. “Public education should still, at the heart of it all, be nonpartisan,” Underly said. 

While they both want schools reopened, they differ in how they want to achieve that goal. Kerr has called for fully reopening schools immediately. Underly said the proper precautions won’t show up overnight, and districts should have some control in their reopening plan. 

“I know right now that MPS is not opening up for all of their kids. That is deplorable, these kids who have the highest levels of achievement gaps, and are suffering the most because of trauma and mental health, and social emotional development,” said Kerr. “We need to get all schools back in session.” 

“I’ve worked really hard to make sure our school district is open,” Underly said. "I’m the candidate that can ensure our schools will be open for in-person learning because we’ve done it already in my school district.” 

School vouchers show a big difference between the candidates. The voucher program allows families to send a child to a private school, and that private school gets payment from the state. 

Kerr is in full support of the voucher program, and would like to expand it further. “I support school choice and the liberty of parents to choose where to send their child,” Kerr said. 

Meanwhile Underly said that money should stay in Wisconsin’s public schools. “I’m a strong advocate for public schools and I want to make sure that our public funding stays in our public schools,” she said. 

In March, Republican lawmakers introduced a bill that would ban transgender girls from participating in girls’ sports at the K-12 and college level in Wisconsin. Both candidates were asked about it in the forum. 

Kerr seemed to support the measure, saying she would support a co-ed sports space, which the bill allows for. “I played basketball and field hockey. And I want to play against other biological women and girls,” she said. “I don't think it's fair to have competition that does otherwise.” 

Underly was obviously surprised by Kerr’s statement. “I think that that's rather transphobic, honestly, what Dr. Kerr just said,” she said. “Kids need to feel safe in their schools, they need to feel seen and heard, and we need to enforce anti-bullying and anti-harassment in our schools.” 

For information on the April 6 election, including where to vote and how to register, click here.