Incumbent state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Evers retained his position for a second term after defeating his challenger, state Rep. Don Pridemore, R-Erin, in Tuesday’s statewide election.
Evers, who spent the last four years in the superintendent position, won the election with approximately 61 percent of the vote.
While the race was officially non-partisan, Evers is generally seen as a Democratic-leaning official. He ran his reelection campaign on promises to boost the state’s public school funding and to challenge Gov. Scott Walker’s plan to expand private school vouchers.
The voucher program would allow families who meet low-income standards and who have students enrolled in underperforming schools to use voucher money to send their children to higher performing private schools. The proposal has already drawn heavy criticism from state Democrats who say the expansion will take money away from public schools that are struggling with funding.
Evers will now serve another four years as the state’s head of education.
