Schools
Election Preview: State Superintendent of Schools
Incumbent Tony Evers is taking on state Rep. Don Pridemore in the April 2 election for Wisconsin's top education post.
State Superintendent of School Tony Evers will face state Rep. Don Pridemore (R-Hartford) in his bid for re-election in the April 2 election.
Both candidates in the nonpartisan race say they're focused on improving the quality of education in Wisconsin, but they differ on the best way to accomplish that goal.
Tony Evers
Evers, a Plymouth native, has been the state superintendent of schools since 2009.
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He has been in the education field for more than 30 years, working as a teacher, principal, superintendent, regional administrator and deputy state superintendent before being elected to his current post. He attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he earned a bachelor's degree in 1973, a master's degree in 1976 and a doctorate in education administration 1986.
Additionally, Evers has been a curriculum auditor in Texas, California, Indiana, Kansas and Ohio. He is a member of the Council of Chief State School Officers. Evers also served as the president of the Deputy State Superintendent Leadership Commission.
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Don Pridemore
Pridemore was first elected to the state Legislature in 2004. He ran on a platform of smaller government and education reform, according to wisconsinvote.org.
He has served as chairman of the Assembly Education Reform Committee, and he is a member of the Education and Colleges and Universities committees.
Pridemore, who has never attended public schools, graduated with a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering from Marquette University.
Additionally, Pridemore is a Vietnam Era veteran, and has worked as an electronics research technician, an electronics design engineer, and a senior electronics project engineer.
Recently, Pridemore received media backlash when a staffer said he instructed to create a list of reporters the candidate would not grant interviews to during the course of the campaign, reported the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
The Issues
Pridemore, is a supporter of Act 10, the law that eliminated collective bargaining rights for most public employees, including teachers. The Republcian says he believes unions are taking over public education and have controlled the state superintendent’s office, according to an interview done by The Daily Page.
He also voted for the largest state funding cut to public education under Walker’s 2011 budget. Pridemore insists Act 10's "modest cuts" to teacher take-home pay "gave school districts the tools to more than make up the difference" for the budget cuts, The Daily Page reports.
Evers disagrees with Pridemore's platforms and believes the education cuts were a mistake, according to The Daily Page.
He believes Walker's 2013 budget won't help make up for the previous cuts and will lead to bigger class sizes, fewer educators and reduced course offerings, according to a statement he made in regards to the budget.
Evers isn't completely on board with voucher schools because he says the schools tend to perform at about a a similar level as Milwaukee Public Schools or worse, reported the Daily Page.
Pridemore, who moved his family to Hartford to get away from MPS, believes voucher schools are successful because they offer competition.
Both candidates agree that there needs to be change in Wisconsin's education system. Pridemore believes there should be less union control, while Evers believes public schools should receive more funding.
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