What Waukesha Co. Needs to Know About February’s Primary Election
February 4, 2025

Brooke Brandtjen

Waukesha County residents are getting ready for the primary election being held on Tuesday, February 18. As early voting begins today throughout the state, it is important that voters are aware of what questions and candidates they will see on the ballot. In Waukesha County, there are three key contests being held.

First is the statewide primary election for the state superintendent of public instruction. A choice between three candidates will appear on the ballot, and voters are asked to select one. Brittany Kinser, Jeff Wright, and Jill Underly are all running for the position. Underly currently holds the office, as she was first elected to it on April 6, 2021. She has worked in various different areas of public education since 1999 and has openly expressed her “passion to help every child in Wisconsin discover their dreams and build their best life”.

However, Underly has faced serious setbacks during her time as superintendent. The U.S. Department of Education’s National Assessment of Educational Progress released their National Report Card last week and Wisconsin’s disappointing results have drawn cynicism towards Underly. Only 31% of both fourth graders and eighth graders received proficient scores on their report cards, a number that has dropped since 2022. Underly has also implemented lower expectations for students’ standardized test scores. This allows for schools’ poor results to go unnoticed. For these changes, Underly has found herself in a tight race.

Wright is running to the left of Underly, utilizing her mistakes as a way to make progress for the community. He has stated his desire to reform testing standards. Further, Wright has also focused his campaign on students’ mental health, respecting public schools, and confronting teacher shortages.

Kinser is running to the right of both candidates. Like Wright, Kinser has used used Underly’s imperfect statewide test scores as a way to usher in change. She previously led a network of charter schools and is now pushing for creating partnerships between families and students to strengthen education. Additionally, Kinser has focused her campaign on transparency in both work and funding.

Shifting to the school districts, those in Hartland-Lakeside J3 School District should be prepared to select three school board members from an available seven choices. The candidates include Joseph J. Henderson, Morgan Henning, John Poulos, Matt McNulty, Niels Peterson, Franklin Brunner, and Matt Schwab. Peterson currently serves on the board, as does Schwab as Treasurer.

The final contest is a referendum being held for those in the Waterford Union High School District. The question asks

“Shall the Waterford Union High School District, Racine and Waukesha Counties, Wisconsin be authorized to issue pursuant to Chapter 67 of the Wisconsin Statutes, general obligation bonds in an amount not to exceed $24,900,000 for the public purpose of paying the cost of a district-wide school facility improvement project consisting of:

  • –  renovating the Maple View building;
  • –  remodeling spaces for art and technical education;
  • –  upgrading infrastructure, safety and building systems and addressing ADAaccessibility;
  • –  making site improvements; and
  • –  acquiring furnishings, fixtures and equipment?”

Information regarding polling places, districts, and poll times can be found Here.

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