MADISON, Wis. — Kevin Nicholson came out swinging this week with the first pillar of his policy platform for governor: shut down schools.
You read that right — rather than offering up plans to improve public education and invest in our kids, Nicholson wants to divert public tax dollars to private schools and allow neighborhood public schools to shut down.
Every Republican running for governor has declared war on Wisconsin’s schools. Radical Rebecca Kleefisch has also endorsed defunding public schools, as well as stripping schools of federal relief funds meant to help students during the pandemic. She even encouraged people to make death threats and harass school board members across the state. As lieutenant governor, Kleefisch supported efforts to hurt students and teachers, including cutting $1.2 billion from public education in Wisconsin’s 2015 budget and passing legislation that resulted in a teacher shortage.
By the end of the Walker-Kleefisch administration, Wisconsin’s school system was ranked 18th in the nation by U.S. News and World Report. Thanks to Governor Tony Evers’ efforts to restore school funding and invest in our kids, Wisconsin’s education system has moved up to the Top 10 in the nation.
“Kevin Nicholson’s extreme agenda will greatly hurt schools and families,” said Democratic Party of Wisconsin Communications Director Iris Riis. “The GOP primary in Wisconsin is clearly going to be a race to see who is the most radical candidate, on everything from public education to reproductive rights. No matter who the GOP chooses, they are going to get schooled by Governor Tony Evers, whose historic investments in education put Wisconsin’s public education system among the Top Ten in the nation.”
