GOTV
2026 Wisconsin Gubernatorial Candidate Side-by-Side
Find out where your Gubernatorial Candidates stand on the Literacy Crisis and how they plan to address it, if elected Governor of Wisconsin.
Get Informed Before You Vote
Review each candidate's responses to our questionnaire below.
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Candidates
Question 1
As governor of Wisconsin, how would you restore high academic standards and create academic outcomes-based accountability for schools?
Question 2
Wisconsin’s Act 20 requires schools to implement evidence-based literacy instruction aligned with the Science of Reading. What will you do as Governor to support the successful implementation of Act 20?
Candidate Walk and Talks
Restoring Standards & Accountability
No response provided.
Implementation of Reading Reforms
No response provided.
Candidate Walk and Talk
No response provided.
Restoring Standards & Accountability
Wisconsin kids deserve high expectations, evidence-based instruction, and a state government that actually tracks whether schools are delivering results — not to punish struggling schools, but because you can’t fix what you don’t measure. As governor, I’d push for real accountability built on transparent, public data: publishing outcomes at the school and district level so parents and taxpayers can see what’s working and where more support is needed. But accountability without resources is just blame. Alongside that transparency, I’d make sure DPI and struggling districts actually get the professional development, coaching, and instructional materials they need to improve — especially in smaller and rural districts that don’t have the internal capacity to do it alone. And I’d fix the school funding formula so it’s built around what kids actually need, with additional weight for English language learners, students with IEPs, and students in poverty. You fund the kid, not the zip code. High standards and real support have to go together — one without the other doesn’t work.
One other area of focus should be a collaborative approach with the strong network of nonprofit organizations around our state. We don’t lack will or innovative approaches to attack these problems, but the state must be an ally, investor and connector of these outside resources as well.
Implementation of Reading Reforms
Act 20 was the right move — the science of reading is clear, and Wisconsin was overdue in aligning its approach to early literacy instruction with what the evidence actually shows. But passing a law is the easy part. Implementation is where it gets hard, and right now districts are at very different stages of readiness. In my home community, I worked with private philanthropy to raise funds that could be dedicated to a teacher training effort across sectors, and DPI pulled the rug out from under this proposed private/public partnership. That is not the way to demonstrate that we are focused on actually solving problems for kids and families in our state.
As governor, I’d make sure DPI has the resources and staffing to actually support districts through this transition — not just issue guidance, but provide real professional development, coaching, and technical assistance, especially for smaller and rural districts that don’t have the internal capacity to navigate a major instructional shift on their own. But DPI also must be held accountable for results, and anyone who believes we can accept the mediocrity of our current system should find a different line of work.
I’d push for transparent, publicly available data on implementation progress and literacy outcomes at the district level — not to punish districts that are struggling, but to identify where additional support is needed and hold the state accountable for providing it.
I’d also make sure the state’s investment in high-quality instructional materials keeps pace with what Act 20 requires. And I’d keep a close eye on equity — making sure the benefits of improved literacy instruction reach Black and brown students, English language learners, and students in under-resourced districts, who have historically been failed most by inadequate early literacy support.
Candidate Walk and Talk
Coming Soon!
Restoring Standards & Accountability
No response provided.
Implementation of Reading Reforms
No response provided.
Candidate Walk and Talk
No response provided.
Restoring Standards & Accountability
The single most important thing we can do to improve academic standards is to honor the state’s commitment to funding public schools. Previous solutions like Act 20 only offered a topical fix in the form of one-time funding. This is neither long-term nor adequate. We can and must do better. It’s no secret that Wisconsin’s public education system is suffocating after fifteen years of deprivation. What was once a best-in-class public education system has been under siege by some of the lowest per-pupil spending rates in the country. At the same time, schools take on additional community roles — healthcare clinics, mental health counseling, social work — without commensurate funding: we’re making schools do more with less. There’s a lot of work to do, within and beyond the classroom, but none of it can even remotely be accomplished without adequate and stable funding — we can’t try to wring blood from a stone. The resources and programs that let Wisconsin students shine and the ones that keep them safe after school alike have been eroded and cannot be rebuilt without necessary funding.
I wrote a bill that replaces the endless cycle of property tax referendums with stable, dedicated education funding (including 90% of special education funding) through a progressive income tax; a 1% increase on the existing top tax bracket and the creation of an additional bracket on a household’s millionth dollar of income. The Legislative Finance Bureau estimates that this progressive tax could replace about 40% of existing property tax needs while guaranteeing stable full funding of our public school system.
Additionally, my “Cranes & Trains” proposal calls to revoke the nearly $2 billion in tax breaks our state is giving to data centers and use it on infrastructure development in our state, including school repairs and lead remediation. We can’t expect our children to perform well if their schools are literally falling apart.
Implementation of Reading Reforms
Republican manipulation meant Act 20 passed as an unfunded mandate, and the funding streams haven’t caught up with the demand since. I believe we need to keep our reading curriculum current to science, not trends, but realize that without adequate funding, this is yet another obligation on the Department of Public Instruction without commensurate resources — Act 20 did not provide ongoing funding for the administration of the Office of Literacy. My Tax the Rich plan, as described above, gives DPI what it needs to get into schools, fund literacy advisors and get our educators the curriculum and pedagogy support they need to teach our children how to become thoughtful readers.
Candidate Walk and Talk
Coming Soon!
Restoring Standards & Accountability
We need to prioritize better learning outcomes for all students. That means using evidence-based learning methods including the science of reading, keeping smartphones and other screens out of the classroom including a bell-to-bell cellphone ban, de-emphasizing EdTech that doesn’t have rigorous evidentiary support, retaining high standards, engaging parents and community members as stakeholders, and ensuring high quality professional development for educators. Above all, we cannot let AI and Big Tech continue to use our children as guinea pigs in their relentless pursuit of profit. Our kids deserve schools that are welcoming, safe, and focused on their growth and success as learners and human beings.
The single most important factor in a student’s success is the teacher in their classroom. We need to restore respect for and trust in teachers as professionals, and their voice in the workplace – the classrooms where our kids learn. This means restoring collective bargaining rights to confront our teacher retention crisis in Wisconsin that is the result of divisive, anti-teacher policies, low wages, and lack of support. Every single school that takes public money must follow basic standards for teacher licensing, no corporal punishment, and full transparency.
I will use every lever of power to pass a budget that puts our kids first, fixes our school funding formula, ends the divisive cycle of referendums, provides long-term property tax relief, and makes Wisconsin the education state once again.
Implementation of Reading Reforms
Reading is the foundation for every child’s success, and early literacy should be central to public education. I supported Act 20, despite my concerns about inadequate funding, because every child deserves evidence-based reading instruction grounded in structured literacy and the science of reading. The focus should remain on what works: dedicated teacher training, systematic phonics instruction, early diagnostics and intervention, and adequate staffing and literacy leaders and coaches to support students and educators.
Successful implementation, however, requires more than passing a law. School districts need stable funding, high-quality professional development, and ongoing support—not unfunded mandates. As governor, I will ensure that the Department of Public Instruction’s Office of Literacy has the funding and staffing to provide training, technical assistance, and evidence-based instructional materials to every district in the state, so that teachers can confidently implement these reforms in their classrooms.
We also need to monitor progress through meaningful, transparent data. Early literacy screenings and Personalized Reading Plans should be used not simply as compliance measures, but as tools to identify students who need additional support before they fall behind. By tracking student growth, reviewing district outcomes, and collaborating with educators, we can identify effective practices and provide additional support where challenges remain.
At the same time, implementation must respect teachers as professionals. Educators and literacy experts must be participating in continuous evaluation of Act 20 to ensure student outcomes improve and districts are able to practically implement the law. Like nearly every educational intervention, the success of Act 20 rests on whether or not our teachers are given the resources to succeed, including funding, training, staff support, materials, but also the respect of trusting them to identify what their students need as the professionals they are.
Candidate Walk and Talk
Coming Soon!
Restoring Standards & Accountability
Restoring high academic standards starts with reversing the decision by DPI to lower academic standards, which made it harder for parents and educators to accurately measure whether students are making progress. When you lower the bar, you don’t improve education; you simply make it harder to identify where students need help. As governor, I’ll restore high academic standards, honest A-F school report cards, and accountability so parents know exactly how their children and their schools are performing. We’ll hold DPI accountable for student outcomes, hold school administrators accountable for maintaining safe classrooms, and make sure education dollars reach teachers and students.
Implementation of Reading Reforms
Reading is the foundation of every other subject a child will learn. If a student isn’t reading proficiently by the end of third grade, they’re far more likely to struggle throughout the rest of their education. As governor, I’ll make sure Act 20 is fully implemented by giving teachers the training, instructional materials, and support they need to succeed. I’ll also hold DPI accountable for implementing the law as the Legislature intended, not delaying or weakening it through bureaucracy. We’ll also hold our colleges of education accountable for ensuring every future teacher graduates with the knowledge and skills to teach reading using the Science of Reading.
Candidate Walk and Talk
Coming Soon!
Kids Win WI is a nonpartisan 501c3 education advocacy nonprofit, working to end the literacy crisis in Wisconsin. We do not endorse or oppose political parties or candidates.
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