Jill Underly
Press Release

Lobbyist Brittany Kinser Finally Responds—And She’s Perfectly “Fine” With Trump’s Plan to Gut Wisconsin Schools

 

By - Mar 7th, 2025 09:25 am

MADISON, WI – After three days of silence, lobbyist Brittany Kinser finally responded to Donald Trump’s plan to shut down the U.S. Department of Education and rip $1 billion out of Wisconsin’s public schools. And her response? “It’s fine.”

Not one negative word about Trump…Not one word of concern for Wisconsin kids…Instead, Kinser shrugs off the devastating impact of these cuts and expects parents, teachers, and students to just trust that everything will work out.

Either Brittany Kinser is dangerously naïve, or she knows exactly what she’s doing—because the very people who are cheering on these cuts are the same right-wing special interests funding her campaign.

Let’s be clear: this isn’t some theoretical policy debate. The Trump administration has already cut federal funding for teachers in Wisconsin—Governor Evers is literally suing them over it. Brittany Kinser hasn’t breathed a word of criticism of that, either.

Just last month, the Trump administration terminated $600 million in federal teacher training and retention grants nationwide—including programs meant to address teacher shortages in rural districts, special education, and high-need subjects like math. That’s on top of Trump’s latest push to gut another $1 billion from Wisconsin’s public schools.

The Trump administration and DOGE are slashing federal funding across the country—cancelling contracts, eliminating entire programs, and cutting billions from services that families rely on. But somehow, lobbyist Kinser expects us to believe that Wisconsin’s education funding will be the one thing spared?

This is either unacceptably naive or a blatant lie. Wisconsin families deserve better than a politician who willfully ignores reality just to protect her political funders.

Jill Underly, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, responded:

“Lobbyist Brittany Kinser has told us everything we need to know. She refuses to say a single bad word about Donald Trump and Elon Musk or the massive cuts they are forcing onto Wisconsin schools. Instead, she attacks me for standing up for students and teachers. That’s exactly what we’d expect from someone who has spent years lobbying against public schools.”

“Federal funding helps keep class sizes small, ensures students with disabilities get the support they need, provides school meals for kids who might otherwise go hungry, and helps train and retain our teachers. But lobbyist Brittany Kinser—who has never worked in a Wisconsin public school—seems to think we can just ‘navigate’ our way through losing $1 billion. Wisconsin families know better.”

The same people celebrating these cuts are the ones bankrolling Kinser’s campaign. That’s why she refuses to criticize Trump’s plan, why she won’t fight for public school students, and why she’d rather attack Jill Underly than stand up for Wisconsin families.

Lobbyist Brittany Kinser Must Answer:

If she won’t fight for Wisconsin’s kids now, when their education funding is on the line, when will she?

Why does she refuse to criticize Donald Trump, who is already gutting education funding in Wisconsin?

Is she too afraid to stand up to these cuts because she is afraid of alienating her donors, the same people who are cheering on these cuts?

This isn’t just politics—this is about the future of Wisconsin’s children. Jill Underly is fighting to protect public education. Brittany Kinser is selling it out to the highest bidder.

Underly for Wisconsin

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.

Mentioned in This Press Release

Comments

  1. AttyDanAdams says:

    Imagine you are the incumbent and have to resort to daily, misleading press releases about your political newcomer opponent to get any traction.

    What exactly is Jill Underly going to do about the federal DOE decisions from Trump? Rhetorical question – nothing. She will do nothing. It’s a federal issue. This is a distraction from Underly’s gross incompetence as DPI sup – including – but not limited to – screwing all of Milwaukee taxpayers when she hid MPS’s financial mess until AFTER the April referendum. No we haven’t forgotten about that!

    For what it’s worth, here is what Kinser actually says re the federal issue:

    “As I have said on multiple occasions, as long as Wisconsin continues to receive the federal funding that our families and students are owed, I am confident in our ability to navigate whatever changes Washington sends our way. Jill Underly’s blatant attempt to turn this serious situation into a political lightning rod is unhelpful and unprofessional, and her recent misrepresentations about my positions are patently false. In fact, a question regarding potential changes at the Department of Education was asked and answered by me at the WisPolitics forum on February 10. Underly would know that, except she skipped the forum.

    “I am opposed to any reduction in the amount of federal dollars supporting K-12 education in Wisconsin – full stop. And I am willing to have an honest conversation about my positions and Jill Underly’s at a future forum. For example, I believe all voters would love to hear why she lowered academic standards for Wisconsin students. Unfortunately, Underly has declined to participate in two upcoming forums in Milwaukee, and both have now been converted to a singular opportunity for me to share my vision and views on the record.

  2. Marty Ellenbecker says:

    At the entrance gate of a university in South Africa,
    the following message was posted for contemplation:

    “Destroying any nation does not require
    the use of atomic bombs or the use of
    long-range missiles. It only requires
    lowering the quality of education and allowing cheating in the examinations by the students…” [or cheating the system of adequate standards supervision]
    Patients die at the hands of such
    doctors…
    Buildings collapse at the hands of such
    engineers…
    Money is lost at the hands of such
    economists and accountants….
    Humanity dies at the hands of such
    religious scholars…
    Justice is lost at the hands of such
    judges…
    “The collapse of Education is the
    collapse of the nation”.

    GET READY – Here come 50 gangs of lobbyists..
    Thanks Drumpfkopf!

  3. Mingus says:

    Until all choice schools in Wisconsin have to have the same reporting standards as public schools, the idea that choice schools actually improve education outcomes is an illusion and could just be a hoax supported by Republicans to undermine public education and establish more Republican Choice schools.

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