MADISON – In tonight’s forum, State Superintendent Dr. Jill Underly made clear why she is the only candidate qualified to lead Wisconsin’s public schools, while Lobbyist Brittany Kinser struggled to defend her misleading attacks and refusal to stand up for Wisconsin students.
Lobbyist Brittany Kinser once again falsely claimed that only 3 in 10 Wisconsin students graduate college or career ready—a statistic so blatantly misleading that Dr. Underly called it out as ridiculous on its face. The reality is:
- Wisconsin has the highest graduation rate in state history—90.5%—and ranks in the Top 3 nationally.
- Wisconsin’s public schools are now ranked 6th in the country.
- Kinser appears to be misrepresenting 4th-grade NAEP reading scores as evidence of college and career readiness—an absurd and inaccurate comparison.
- When directly challenged on her misleading statistic, Kinser had no response.
While Jill Underly laid out real solutions for Wisconsin’s schools, Kinser doubled down on her lobbying background and support for funneling more public money into private schools—despite the fact that Wisconsin public schools are already severely underfunded.
Dr. Underly provided a clear history of Wisconsin’s school funding crisis, and outlined how local districts have been forced into operating referendums just to keep the lights on. Meanwhile, Kinser repeatedly called for even more state subsidies to those choosing private schools, draining even more resources from public schools that serve most Wisconsin kids.
And, once again, Lobbyist Brittany Kinser demanded Wisconsin’s schools align with the national NAEP standards—while completely ignoring the fact that Trump and Elon Musk have gutted that program. The reality is:
- The office that oversees NAEP has been dismantled by the Trump administration, with nearly all staff eliminated.
- Tying Wisconsin’s education programs to a collapsing initiative makes no sense—but Kinser refuses to acknowledge that.
When given the direct opportunity to say whether she supports Governor Evers’ lawsuit against Donald Trump for gutting the U.S. Department of Education, Lobbyist Brittany Kinser refused to answer. Instead, she once again defended Trump’s attacks on public education, echoing her previous claims that it’s ‘fine.’
She refuses to condemn Trump. She refuses to condemn Elon Musk. And she refuses to condemn the destruction of public education—because her biggest donors are the ones cheering it on.
Adding to the confusion, Lobbyist Brittany Kinser tried to run away from her own record as a lobbyist, bringing up the topic herself.
- Kinser complained about being called a ‘lobbyist’—even though she was a registered lobbyist with the State of Wisconsin.
- Kinser claimed she wasn’t a lobbyist, then later admitted she was “lobbying” in her answer.
- Kinser failed to explain how her years working to divert public funds into private schools, and zero years of experience in Wisconsin’s public schools, never having worked as a teacher or administrator under a publicly elected school board, prepared her to run Wisconsin’s public education system.
Meanwhile, Jill Underly demonstrated a deep understanding of the job of Superintendent, the policies affecting Wisconsin schools, and the issues currently being debated in state education policy circles. Lobbyist Brittany Kinser, by contrast, offered vague, talking point-driven answers that lacked substance.
Tonight’s forum made one thing clear: Wisconsin needs a leader who will fight for public schools, not another lobbyist pushing special interest agendas. Dr. Jill Underly is that leader.
