« More Districts Tell The Story | Home | More Districts Tell The Story »
Briggs Joins State Superintendent Race
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | May 26, 2020
From WisPolitics.com . . .
Sheila Briggs, who has spent the past nine years as an assistant state superintendent, today announced her campaign to become Wisconsin’s next top education official.
Briggs began her education career teaching 4K and kindergarten in Madison schools before becoming an elementary principal. She then joined the district’s central office as lead principal for elementary schools before joining the Department of Public Instruction.
There, she became assistant superintendent overseeing the Division of Academic Excellence. The division includes teams that support teachers and others that focus on student achievement.
Wisconsin has persistently shown a gap in the test scores of white students compared to those of minorities, but Briggs said she is heartened by pilot program designed to help districts implement high standards and quality instruction.
She also argued the state will need to continue education investments in making sure kids have access to broadband and computers to guard against them falling behind due to the impact of COVID-19 on classroom instruction.
“You can almost feel it in your heart the gap widening,” she said in an interview.
Briggs is the second candidate to announce plans to run next year with Superintendent Carolyn Stanford Taylor announcing she won’t seek a full term after being appointed by Gov. Tony Evers to replace him in the role. The primary would be Feb. 16.
Pecatonica Area School District Superintendent Jill Underly announced her campaign earlier this month.
Meanwhile, Troy Gunderson, who retires July 31 after 10 years as the West Salem superintendent, said today he’s still weighing a bid.
Briggs also said in the interview she believes the state should focus its K-12 funding on public schools. She wouldn’t support an immediate end to the state’s voucher program, but believes it should be phased out.
“It is important for us to take a look at whether or not our state can fiscally support two separate school systems, especially as we’re facing huge shortfalls going forward,” she said. “I think it’s a great time to reevaluate our finances and try to determine if we can continue down this path or if we want to put all of our investments into strong public schools for kids.”
See Brigg’s release here.
Topics: SAA Capitol Reports, SAA Capitol Reports with Email Notifications, SAA Latest Update | No Comments »
Comments are closed.