MILWAUKEE — Wisconsin voters have chosen to keep Jill Underly as the state superintendent.
At the time the race was called, Underly received 53 percent of the vote, while Kinser tallied 47 percent.
The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction interacts directly or indirectly with 421 school districts, 2,300 schools, more than 800,000 students and thousands of teachers; however, there is no state board of education.
That means Underly will continue to have broad authority to oversee education policy, which includes dispersing money to schools and managing teacher licensing.
Watch: Jill Underly re-elected as Wisconsin’s state superintendent
She will also have to manage Wisconsin’s relationship with the Trump administration as it seeks to eliminate the federal Department of Education.
This will be Underly’s second term in office. She was first elected in 2021. She has more than 25 years of experience as both a teacher and administrator.
The spring election saw a record-breaking amount of money pouring into state campaigns from across the country. While most of that money was spent on the state Supreme Court race, the superintendent’s race broke its own fundraising record.
Kinser raised more $2.2 million, while Underly brought in more than $1 million in donations.
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