Limited background amidst Wisconsin (and Madison’s) long term, disastrous reading results:
Did taxpayer funded Wisconsin DPI Superintendent Underly Juice Test Scores for Reelection?notes and links on Incumbent DPI Superintendent Jill Underly (back story).
Underly supports eliminating our one elementary teacher content knowledge requirement, the Foundations of Reading (FORT).
Perhaps this forensic thread offers a few partial answers (post election summaries: grok gpt4)
Former Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz raises substantive points:
What’s needed, I think, is a continuous focus, month after month, about the performance of our schools and how they might be improved – something like the way the State Journal once focussed on nonpartisan redistricting, but even more intense.
I do try to provide that kind of focus here in my blog for Isthmus and on my own site. I make it a point to write critically about the schools as often as I can, but I’m a relatively small player these days. It’s not just the newspapers that aren’t up in arms — as I believe they should be — about the performance of our schools. We don’t hear much about it from the mayor or the county executive or the Chamber of Commerce or other civic groups either.
The quality of our schools impacts everything in our community — our long-term civic capacity, our workforce, even our property values. And, by most measures, those schools are underperforming, especially by the standards of a community that values education as much as we do.
And our schools are a lot more important than the freedom to step off the sidewalk on State Street.
The following may provide some clues for those interested in a deeper dive.
The first is worth forensic analysis:
Gavin Michaelson [Linkedin bio]:
On Tuesday, Democratic U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan (district map) will join an in-person town hall hosted by Opportunity Wisconsin and other grassroots organizations in La Crosse.
The town hall will focus on potential cuts to Medicaid, SNAP, Social Security and other federal programs.
“We’re grateful that Congressman Pocan is willing to have an open and direct conversation with Wisconsinites about the harmful cuts to Medicaid, SNAP, and more that Republicans in Congress continue to pursue just to pay for tax breaks for billionaires and corporations,” said Meghan Roh [Linkedin bio Spector-Roh Strategies], Opportunity Wisconsin program director. “Many families across the state are worried about how these devastating cuts would make everyday life more difficult by cutting services and increasing costs.”
As an aside, a deeper dive into Derrick Van Orden’s ascent to Wisconsin’s 3rd District [map] is worth a look as well. (Summaries: grok gpt4 claude)
Rich Kremer [wpr bio, could not immediately find a deeper resume]:
The top Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives says Wisconsin’s Supreme Court election is vital because the only way to challenge “gerrymandered” congressional voting maps is “if you have an enlightened Supreme Court” overseeing a legal challenge.
Republicans say it’s proof Democrats are planning to redraw maps if liberal Dane County Judge Susan Crawford wins on April 1. Crawford’s campaign says she’s never commented on congressional redistricting and the GOP is trying to distract from Elon Musk’s support for conservative Waukesha County Judge Brad Schimel.
During a Democratic National Committee update Monday afternoon, New York House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries talked with DNC Chair Ken Martin about the importance of Wisconsin’s Supreme Court election next Tuesday. Martin said Democrats “have to win” it.
Jeffries elaborated on why.
“Because there are gerrymandered congressional lines right now in Wisconsin,” Jeffries said.
A look at potential candidates for the 2026 Wisconsin Third Congressional District election.
In closing, the Wisconsin League of Women Voters lobbied against recent reading reform legislation….
