Strong Public Education

Strong public schools are essential to strong communities.

Our schools do much more than educate students. They help prepare the next generation for work and citizenship, support families, strengthen local communities, and contribute to economic growth. For many communities, the public school is one of the most important institutions they have.

Throughout this campaign, I have spent time listening to educators, administrators, school board members, parents, and community leaders across District 9. While every district faces unique challenges, several themes come up repeatedly: rising costs, workforce shortages, increasing student needs, and growing pressure on local property taxpayers.

Supporting Students

Every student deserves access to a quality education, regardless of where they live.

That means ensuring schools have the resources necessary to help students succeed academically, prepare for careers, and develop the skills needed to thrive in a changing economy.

Supporting Educators

Strong schools require strong relationships between parents, students, teachers, administrators, and communities.

In recent years, we've seen a growing tendency to treat teachers as political opponents rather than professionals who have dedicated their careers to helping children learn and succeed. I believe that's a mistake.

The teachers I've met are hardworking, dedicated professionals who are often being asked to do more with less. They are navigating larger expectations, changing student needs, workforce shortages, and growing administrative demands. Most are focused on helping students learn, grow, and succeed. They are not spending their days trying to indoctrinate children.

That doesn't mean schools should be free from oversight or criticism. Parents have every right to ask questions, express concerns, and be actively involved in their children's education. Transparency and accountability are important.

But we can have those conversations without dehumanizing the people doing the work.

When trust between families and schools begins to break down, students are the ones who suffer. We should be working to strengthen those relationships, support excellent educators, and create an environment where schools and communities work together rather than view each other with suspicion.

Special Education

One of my highest education priorities is increasing special education funding.

School districts are legally required to provide these services, and they should be. But when the state fails to cover a meaningful share of those costs, local districts are forced to redirect resources from other programs or ask local taxpayers to make up the difference.

Wisconsin should meet its commitment to students with special needs and the families who depend on those services.

Modernizing School Funding

Increasing special education reimbursement is an important first step, but it is not the entire solution.

Wisconsin's school funding system has become increasingly complex and difficult to understand. I believe we should conduct a comprehensive review of education funding with the goals of improving transparency, fairness, predictability, and reducing pressure on local property taxpayers.

We owe it to students, families, educators, and taxpayers to build a funding system that reflects today's realities rather than yesterday's assumptions.

Accountability

Taxpayers deserve transparency and accountability for every public dollar spent on education.

If a school receives taxpayer funding, taxpayers should be able to understand how those dollars are being used and whether students are being well served.

Looking Forward

The goal is not simply to spend more money or preserve existing systems.

The goal is to ensure that every student has access to a quality education, every community has strong schools, every educator has the support necessary to do their job well, and every taxpayer can be confident that education dollars are being used responsibly.

Strong public schools remain one of the best investments we can make in the future of Wisconsin.