Underly says underfunding schools is failing our children
The state's education funding has not kept up with inflation and public funds that have been redirected into private school programs are critical factors
Dr. Jill Underly, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, warned about the perils of turning our backs on public education at the 2026 State of Education Address on Sept. 24, and pointed to the state’s historical commitment written in the Constitution.
“Our founders understood, nearly 250 years ago, that public education is the infrastructure for democracy,” she said. “Wisconsin was built on a deep tradition of patriotism, civic duty, and public purpose. This legacy has been passed down to us, and it is our responsibility to uphold it today. An investment in public education is not just an investment in our children; it is an investment in all of our shared future.”
The annual event featured students and educators from around the state and included performances by Appleton North students Lily Goodwin and Charlie Holtman in a scene from Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, as well as the Waunakee H.S. Flute Ensemble’s Star-Spangled Banner. Milani Noble of Madison sang "Lift Every Voice and Sing," and a middle-school choir and elementary-school dance group also performed.
Jon Etter, an English teacher at Wauwatosa East High School and one of five educators receiving a Teacher of the Year award, said teaching students is harder – and therefore, more important – than ever, given the many distractions they face.
“We teach kids not what to think, but how to think, and we push them to think, and we create environments where they actually can think.” Etter said. “In a world designed to keep us constantly distracted, constantly online, constantly isolated from one another, a world that is eroding our ability to focus, hurting our mental health, and fueling a loneliness epidemic, we as educators have a unique opportunity to create breakwaters and retaining walls to stop the waves of social media sewage and AI-generated hog slop constantly crashing on the shores of society.”
Other educators honored on Thursday included Harmony Elementary art teacher Devon Calvert; Sauk Prairie High School counselor Tonya Lassanske; Nuestro Mundo Community School Bilingual Dual Language Immersion teacher Kristen Scott; and Pilgrim Park Middle School Special Education teacher Allison Urban.
Underly pointed to education funding which has not kept up with inflation and the public funds that have been redirected into private school programs. Revenue limits, meant to be temporary, are still creating funding disparities across the state. The funding formula, she said, is not meeting the needs of kids, parents, or communities.
“So why are we turning our back on this vision today?” she asked. “For far too long, Wisconsin’s public schools have been forced to do more with less. And let me be clear: this was not an accident, and it was not inevitable.
“Our teachers are not the problem,” she insisted. “Our students are not the problem. The problem is that we have asked them to carry the weight of decades of political decisions – and then blamed them when the burden became too heavy.”
Underly said the way back is to elect leaders who are “pro-public school, pro-child, and pro-Wisconsin” and not those “whose records include repeatedly voting against investments in Wisconsin’s children.”
You can watch the State of Education Address in full at Wisconsin Eye.
