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2021 Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction election
	County results; Underly: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90%; Kerr 50–60% 60–70%
Superintendent before election; Carolyn Stanford Taylor; Nonpartisan	Elected Superintendent ; Jill Underly; Nonpartisan

The 2021 Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction election was held on April 6, 2021. Incumbent Superintendent of Public Instruction Carolyn Stanford Taylor did not seek election to a full term. She was appointed to the seat by Governor Tony Evers, the previous Superintendent of Public Instruction, to fill the remainder of his term after he was elected Governor of Wisconsin in 2018.

Background

School choice

In Wisconsin, school choice stretches back to the administrations of governor Tommy Thompson and Milwaukee mayor John Norquist when they implemented a school vouchers program in Milwaukee in the 1990s—The Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP).^[1] Originally the program had been open to pupils with a family income less than 175% of the federal poverty line, while only secular private schools were eligible for the program.^[2]

In 2011, several changes occurred to the school choice programs in the state. Republican governor Scott Walker signed a budget which eliminated the previous enrollment cap for the MPCP, while the range of eligible incomes was expanded. Subsequently, the Republican controlled legislature passed the Wisconsin Parental Choice Program, which expanded school choice programs across the state.

By fall 2020, students enrolled in private schools in Wisconsin numbered around 118,862. This represented a 1.53% decrease from the previous year.^[3]

Primary election

Candidates

Advanced

Deborah Kerr, former superintendent of Brown Deer School District^[4]
Jill Underly, superintendent of Pecatonica Area School District^[5]

Eliminated in primary

Sheila Briggs, assistant state superintendent at the state Department of Public Instruction.
Joe Fenrick, Fond du Lac high school science teacher^[6]
Troy Gunderson, Viterbo University professor and former superintendent of the School District of West Salem^[7]
Shandowlyon Hendricks-Williams, former director of Evers' Milwaukee office and DPI Education Administrative Director of Teacher Education, Professional Development and Licensing^[8]
Steve Krull, principal of Milwaukee's Garland Elementary School and former Air Force instructor^[9]

Declined

Carolyn Stanford Taylor, incumbent Superintendant of Public Instruction^[10]

Primary results

2021 Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction primary election^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
Nonpartisan Primary, February 16, 2021
	Nonpartisan	Jill Underly	88,796	27.23%
	Nonpartisan	Deborah Kerr	86,174	26.43%
	Nonpartisan	Sheila Briggs	50,815	15.58%
	Nonpartisan	Shandowlyon Hendricks-Williams	36,850	11.30%
	Nonpartisan	Troy Gunderson	27,452	8.42%
	Nonpartisan	Steve Krull	20,543	6.30%
	Nonpartisan	Joe Fenrick	14,507	4.45%
	Write-in		937	0.29%
Total votes			326,074	100.0%

General election

Results

2021 Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction election^[12]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
General Election, April 6, 2021
	Nonpartisan	Jill Underly	526,444	57.57%
	Nonpartisan	Deborah Kerr	386,570	42.27%
	Write-in		1,420	0.16%
Total votes			914,434	100.0%