Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction election, 2017

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Wisconsin superintendent of public instruction election

Filing deadline: January 3, 2017

Primary date: February 21, 2017

General election date: April 4, 2017

Winner: Tony Evers

Incumbent prior to election: Tony Evers

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Wisconsin held a nonpartisan election for superintendent of public instruction on April 4, 2017. Two-term incumbent Tony Evers defeated Lowell Holtz in the general election on April 4, 2017. The pair defeated two other challengers in the primary election on February 21, 2017.

The nonpartisan Wisconsin superintendent of public instruction serves a four-year term.

HIGHLIGHTS

Incumbent Tony Evers sought a third term in office. Evers' campaign was primarily supported by teachers unions and Democratic leaders.

Challengers Lowell Holtz and John Humphries both earned the backing of conservative groups. Both candidates supported school voucher programs and opposed Common Core standards.

Write-in candidate Rick Melcher's campaign was focused on engaging with local communities to develop solutions for Wisconsin schools.

Candidates

Tony Evers  
Incumbent superintendent of public instruction since 2009

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Evers was first elected to the position of superintendent on April 7, 2009, and subsequently re-elected on April 2, 2013. He began his career as a classroom teacher, and has since worked as a principal, school district administrator, CESA administrator, and deputy state superintendent. Though the office of superintendent is technically nonpartisan, Evers was supported in his 2013 re-election bid by Democratic fundraising apparatuses.

Lowell Holtz  
Former superintendent, Beloit School District

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Holtz began his career in education as a parochial school teacher in Minnesota. He returned to his native Wisconsin and worked as a principal at Cambridge Elementary School and Peshtigo Elementary School. While in Peshtigo, Holtz earned the National Distinguished Principal award and the Wisconsin Principal of the Year award for the 1999-2000 school year.

Holtz worked as a district administrator/superintendent for the Palmyra Area School District, the Beloit School District and the Whitnall School District before retiring in June 2016.

Click [show] to see candidates who were defeated in the primary election.

John Humphries   Former administrator, Dodgeville School District Humphries is a former school psychologist with the Norris School District. He later held administrative positions with the La Farge School District, the Viroqua School District, and the Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District. From 2004 to 2011, he worked for the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction as a school psychology consultant before returning to district administration positions with the Beloit School District and the Dodgeville School District. Rick Melcher   High school math teacher, Racine Unified School District Melcher's teaching career has spanned 25 years in rural and urban schools across Wisconsin and Colorado. In addition to classroom teaching, he has also served as a lead teacher for the Wisconsin Academy Staff Development Initiative and as a member of the board of directors for the Wisconsin Mathematics Council.

Results

Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction, General Election, 2017
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Tony Evers Incumbent	70%	494,846
Lowell Holtz	30%	212,536
Total Votes		707,382
Source: WisconsinVote.org, "Current election results," accessed April 4, 2017

Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction, Primary Election, 2017
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Tony Evers Incumbent	69.7%	251,477
Lowell Holtz	22.9%	82,519
John Humphries	7.4%	26,563
Rick Melcher	0%	0
Total Votes		360,559
Source: WisconsinVote.org, "Current election results," accessed February 22, 2017

Issues

During the general election campaign, a number of issues emerged as points of conflict between the two candidates. Evers and Holtz disagreed on student achievement, Common Core, and school choice.

• Student Achievement: Holtz pointed to decreased student performance and increasing achievement gap between white and African-American students in the state's largest school district over the previous four school years as a sign that change was needed. Evers, however, defended the changes as a result of the state shifting its standards higher to match national education standards.

• Common Core: The state superintendent has the authority to adopt or reject Common Core standards for the state. Wisconsin was one of 40 states to adopt the standards in 2010. Holtz publicly advocated for the elimination of Common Core standards and letting individual districts set their own standards. Evers, meanwhile, publicly supported Common Core, and said that families benefit from having similar standards across different school districts.

• School choice: Wisconsin sponsors four voucher programs, two of which are statewide (the other two are limited to specific municipalities). In addition, Wisconsin provides a tax deduction for parents who send their children to private schools. Evers opposed the expansion of taxpayer-funded voucher programs, and said he would focus on improving the education of the state's public schools. Holtz said he supports the expansion of charter and voucher schools as an alternative to public schools for families who feel their children's education needs are not being met in public schools.

Context of the 2017 election

Primary elections

Unlike partisan offices in Wisconsin, where each political party holds an open primary, only one primary election was held for the nonpartisan Wisconsin superintendent of public instruction. The primary took place on February 21, 2017. The top two candidates from the primary advanced to the general election.

Party control in Wisconsin

Wisconsin has been under Republican trifecta control since 2011. The state was represented in the U.S. Senate by one Republican and one Democrat, and voters have tended to elect members of both parties to Congress. From 1980 to 2016, Wisconsin's presidential electoral votes went to the Democratic presidential candidate every election cycle except 1980, 1984, and 2016.

The office of superintendent of public instruction in Wisconsin is a nonpartisan position. However, candidates can and often are supported in their bids for election by partisan groups.

Campaign finance

The following table identifies the candidates' campaign receipts and disbursements from July 1, 2016, to February 14, 2017, according to the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board:

Campaign receipts and disbursements, July 1, 2016 - February 14, 2017
Candidate	Total receipts	Total expenses	Balance
Tony Evers	$247,117.42	$28,726.56	$218,390.86
John Humphries	$58,536.00	$42,080.02	$16,455.98
Lowell Holtz	$54,280.48	$18,785.82	$35,494.66
Rick Melcher	$2,201.04	$2,288.73	-$87.69

Noteworthy events

Humphries and Holtz discussions

According to a report in the Wisconsin State Journal on February 15, 2017, Wisconsin superintendent of public instruction candidate John Humphries stated in an interview that fellow candidate Lowell Holtz had suggested in writing that he or Humphries suspend their campaign in exchange for a guaranteed position with the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction upon the defeat of incumbent Superintendent Tony Evers. The proposed three-year position would pay an annual salary of $150,000, including benefits and a driver, and would exercise authority over certain urban school districts.

Holtz claimed that the suggestion was an idea rather than a formal proposal. He stated that the arrangement had been formed in writing at the request of a group of business leaders who hoped that Humphries and Holtz, both conservative candidates, could cooperate to defeat Evers.

"It’s true that we had breakfast together. It’s true that a number of business people asked us to get together and discuss options for working together because they thought we would have a better chance," Holtz said in a radio interview with the Dan O’Donnell Show on WISN-AM. "There was no specific proposal. There were ideas that were thrown around. They were ideas."

"Unfortunately, we are on totally opposite ends of the political spectrum," Holtz continued. "The differences between Mr. Humphries’ approach to education and mine were too stark to be reconciled, so the conversation ended there."

Humphries claimed that the proposal came directly from Holtz rather than business leaders. He later offered Holtz a position on his campaign, but the two candidates did not reach an agreement.

Both candidates released draft documents of the proposal to the public, but the documents contained different information and neither could be verified by the Wisconsin State Journal as an unaltered version. According to the documents, Holtz's position with the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction would be guaranteed for three years and would pay an annual salary of $150,000, including benefits and a driver. Holtz would also be granted the authority to break up certain urban school districts, including Milwaukee, Racine, Kenosha, Madison, and potentially Green Bay, as well as alter the school boards as needed. Humphries' position would satisfy the same terms, but no specific school districts were identified.

Response

Scot Ross of One Wisconsin Now, a self-described progressive 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization, filed a complaint on February 16, 2017, requesting that the Wisconsin Ethics Commission investigate the discussions between Humphries and Holtz. The complaint alleged that Humphries and Holtz violated campaign finance laws since the proposed position with the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction constituted the exchange of value for votes, or "an election bribe."

Incumbent Superintendent Evers requested that Humphries and Holtz provide more information about the discussions.

Conclusion

The Wisconsin Ethics Commission unanimously dismissed the complaint against Humphries and Holtz on March 14, 2017. The commission stated:

“

The Commission dismisses the complaint filed by Scot Ross and One Wisconsin Now on the basis that the allegations and documents contained in the complaint do not violate election bribery provisions contained in Wis. Stat. § 12.11, therefore there can be no reasonable suspicion that a violation of this law has occurred.

”

Qualifications

Article X, Section 1 of the Wisconsin Constitution assigns the prescription of qualifications for the superintendent to the Wisconsin State Legislature:

Text of Section 1: Superintendent of Public Instruction The supervision of public instruction shall be vested in a state superintendent and such other officers as the legislature shall direct; and their qualifications, powers, duties and compensation shall be prescribed by law. The state superintendent shall be chosen by the qualified electors of the state at the same time and in the same manner as members of the supreme court, and shall hold office for 4 years from the succeeding first Monday in July. The term of office, time and manner of electing or appointing all other officers of supervision of public instruction shall be fixed by law.

Authority

Wisconsin law provides that heads of independent agencies may create and appoint such councils and committees as the operation of the agency requires.

Wisconsin Statutes, Section 15.04

In addition to any councils specifically created by law, create and appoint such councils or committees as the operation of the department or independent agency requires. Members of councils and committees created under this general authority shall serve without compensation, but may be reimbursed for their actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties and, if such reimbursement is made, such reimbursement in the case of an officer or employee of this state who represents an agency as a member of such a council or committee shall be paid by the agency which pays the officer's or employee's salary.

The creation of the Department of Public Instruction is designated in Wisconsin Statutes.

Wisconsin Statutes, Chapter 15.37, Department of public instruction; creation

There is created a department of public instruction under the direction and supervision of the state superintendent of public instruction.

Wisconsin Statutes, Chapter 115

Duties

The specific duties of the Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction are outlined in Chapter 115.29 of the Wisconsin state code.

The State Superintendent of Public Instruction may:

“

Designate representative: Designate the deputy state superintendent or another employee of the department as the state superintendent's representative on any body on which the state superintendent is required to serve, except the board of regents of the University of Wisconsin System. Educational meetings: Attend such educational meetings and make such investigations as the state superintendent deems important and as will acquaint the state superintendent with the different systems of public schools in the United States. Auxiliary instructional employees: By order, establish classes of auxiliary instructional employees and authorize their employment in the instructional program of the elementary and high schools for specific purposes and their reimbursement from the instructional budget. Auxiliary instructional employees shall not be covered as teachers as defined in s. 40.02 (55) or under s. 118.21, 118.22 or 121.006 (2) but shall be eligible under the public employee trust fund as participating employees as defined in s. 40.02 (46), if it is made applicable, other than through s. 40.21 (3), to the school district employing them. High school graduation equivalency: (a) Grant declarations of equivalency of high school graduation to persons, if in the state superintendent's judgment they have presented satisfactory evidence of having completed a recognized high school course of study or its equivalent. The state superintendent may establish the standards by which high school graduation equivalency is determined. Such standards may consist of evidence of high school courses completed in high schools recognized by the proper authorities as accredited, results of examinations given by or at the request of the state superintendent, successful completion of correspondence study courses given by acceptable correspondence study schools, a general educational development certificate of high school equivalency issued by an agency of the U.S. government, course credits received in schools meeting the approval of the state superintendent or other standards established by the state superintendent. (b) Promulgate rules establishing fees for issuing a declaration of equivalency of high school graduation or a general educational development certificate under par. (a). The rules may provide exemptions from the fees based on financial need. Teacher supply, information and analysis: Assist school boards, cooperative educational service agencies and county children with disabilities education boards to locate qualified professional school personnel, assist qualified professional school personnel to locate vacant positions and provide information and analysis of the professional school personnel supply. English language proficiency assessment system: Assist in the establishment of, and participate in, a consortium of state education agencies organized to obtain public and private funds to be used to purchase an English language proficiency assessment system. Teen pregnancy prevention: Apply for federal funds allocated to evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention programs that have been proven through rigorous evaluation to delay sexual activity, increase contraceptive use, and reduce teen pregnancy in order to implement such a program.

”

Past elections

Full history

2013

See also: Wisconsin state executive official elections, 2013

Incumbent Tony Evers ran for and won re-election in 2013. He defeated state rep. Don Pridemore with approximately 61 percent of the vote in the general election on April 2, 2013.

Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction General Election, 2013
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	Tony Evers Incumbent	61.1%	487,030
	Nonpartisan	Don Pridemore	38.7%	308,050
	Scattering	Various	0.2%	1,431
Total Votes				796,511
Election Results via Wisconsin Government Accountability Board (dead link).

2009

On April 7, 2009, Tony Evers won election to the office of Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction. He defeated Rose Fernandez in the general election.

Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction, 2009
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	Tony Evers	57.1%	439,248
	Nonpartisan	Rose Fernandez	42.7%	328,511
	Nonpartisan	Scattering	0.1%	905
Total Votes				768,664
Election results via Wisconsin Government Accountability Board.

2005

On April 5, 2005, Elizabeth Burmaster won re-election to the office of Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction. She defeated Gregg Underheim in the general election.

Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction, 2005
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	Elizabeth Burmaster Incumbent	62.2%	449,739
	Nonpartisan	Gregg Underheim	37.7%	273,100
	-	Scattering	0.1%	784
Total Votes				723,623
Election results via Wisconsin Government Accountability Board.

2001

On April 3, 2001, Elizabeth Burmaster won election to the office of Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction. She defeated Linda A. Cross and Janet E. Van Asten in the general election.

Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction, 2001
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	Elizabeth Burmaster	59.8%	443,359
	Nonpartisan	Linda A. Cross	40%	296,601
	Nonpartisan	Janet E. Van Asten	0%	72
	-	Scattering	0.2%	1,171
Total Votes				741,203
Election results via Wisconsin Government Accountability Board.

State profile

Demographic data for Wisconsin
	Wisconsin	U.S.
Total population:	5,767,891	316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):	54,158	3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:	86.5%	73.6%
Black/African American:	6.3%	12.6%
Asian:	2.5%	5.1%
Native American:	0.9%	0.8%
Pacific Islander:	0%	0.2%
Two or more:	2.1%	3%
Hispanic/Latino:	6.3%	17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:	91%	86.7%
College graduation rate:	27.8%	29.8%
Income
Median household income:	$53,357	$53,889
Persons below poverty level:	15%	11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Wisconsin. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Presidential voting pattern

See also: Presidential voting trends in Wisconsin

Wisconsin voted for the Democratic candidate in five out of the six presidential elections between 2000 and 2020.

Pivot Counties (2016)

Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, 23 are located in Wisconsin, accounting for 11.17 percent of the total pivot counties.

Pivot Counties (2020)

In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Wisconsin had 21 Retained Pivot Counties and two Boomerang Pivot Counties, accounting for 11.60 and 8.00 percent of all Retained and Boomerang Pivot Counties, respectively.

More Wisconsin coverage on Ballotpedia

• Elections in Wisconsin
• United States congressional delegations from Wisconsin
• Public policy in Wisconsin
• Influencers in Wisconsin
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• More...

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction election 2017. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction election, 2017 - Google News

See also

Wisconsin government:

• Wisconsin state executive offices
• Wisconsin State Legislature
• Wisconsin courts

Elections:

• State executive official elections, 2017
• State executive official elections, 2016
• State executive official elections, 2015

Ballotpedia exclusives:

• State executives compensation
• State of the state addresses
• Trifecta control of state government

External links

Suggest a link

• Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction official website
• Tony Evers campaign website
• Lowell Holtz campaign website
• John Humphries campaign website
• Rick Melcher campaign website