Annysa Johnson

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Evers will face two challengers in the February primary election in a race that could evolve into a partisan proxy battle over the expansion of school choice in Wisconsin.

Evers and his opponents — Dodgeville School District administrator John Humphries and retired Beloit Superintendent Lowell Holtz — filed nomination papers with the Wisconsin Election Commission by the 5 p.m. deadline Tuesday. They will square off in the Feb. 21 primary and the top two vote-getters will advance to the April 4 spring election.

The office of state superintendent is officially nonpartisan. But Evers has the support of the state teachers union and many public school advocates, many of whom see the school choice movement as a threat to traditional public schools.

Holtz and Humphries both have voiced support for the state's parental choice programs, which provide vouchers for low- and middle-income students to attend private school. And they could attract outside funding from choice advocates and conservatives eager to unseat one of the last Democratic-leaning statewide elected officials in Madison.

Evers said Tuesday that he was not interested in a proxy battle over school choice.

That there are different sectors "is immaterial now. We need to focus on kids — whether they're achieving, not achieving — in whatever segment they're in," he said. "Others may want to make this a proxy fight, but I will not," he said.

Humphries, whose candidacy has drawn interest from state and national reform advocates, said he cannot control who donates to his campaign. But he said a proxy battle would be "unfortunate."

"It would distract us from the issues around school improvement that we need to focus on," said Humphries, a former Department of Public Instruction consultant who described Wisconsin's third-grade reading scores as "a moral and economic failure."

Tuesday's deadline coincided with the start of the 115th Congress and Wisconsin's 2016-'17 legislative session in which Republicans — who are enjoying their largest majorities in a generation — could shape the education landscape for years to come.

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In Wisconsin, lawmakers are expected to boost funding for traditional public schools, but they may also take steps to expand the school choice programs. And nationally, President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for Secretary of Education, billionaire philanthropist Betsy DeVos, is a school choice advocate who disdains Common Core, the controversial standards that have been used in Wisconsin and other states for several years.

Issues likely to be raised in the campaign include the lack of equity in educational opportunities across the state, the growing teacher shortage and how to make schools accountable for student achievement, said Jon Bales, executive director of the Wisconsin Association of School District Administrators.

He said districts will be eager to hear how any expansion of school choice would impact public schools.

"We don't see things changing dramatically from a revenue standpoint," he said. "And since costs will expand with the increase in vouchers and charters, we'd like to know where they see that going."

As part of his 2017-'19 budget, Evers is asking the state for an additional $707 million for schools.

A longtime educator, who spent eight years as deputy superintendent before taking the top spot, Evers won his last two elections handily, with more than 60% of the vote. He pointed to the state's higher graduation rates, lower rates of expulsions and suspensions and the push to improve career and technical education as among his accomplishments.

An Evers critic, Humphries said his priorities include improving teacher training and replacing Common Core. Humphries touts bipartisan support, pointing to his campaign chairs, Assembly members and school choice proponents Jeremy Thiesfeldt (R-Fond du Lac) and Jason Fields (D-Milwaukee). But he could have trouble with some Republicans because he signed the petition that forced an attempted recall of Gov. Scott Walker in 2012.

Holtz said he retired to campaign full time. His priorities include education reform, especially in urban areas, and giving teachers and students a safe environment.

"We can't keep failing our kids the way we have been. It's embarrassing and shameful," he said.

Candidates require 2,000 valid signatures to get on the ballot. Three candidates who had registered to run failed to meet the Tuesday deadline: Germantown administrator Jeffrey Holmes, failed Tomah mayoral candidate Remberto Gomez and Racine teacher Rick Melcher.