Four Republican state senators and representatives from Waukesha County are calling out extreme left-wing Wisconsin State Superintendent Jill Underly for “political activism that does not belong in our schools” and undermining “local control.”
“Your recent letter to Superintendent Sebert and the School District of Waukesha School Board is a departure from your mission,” wrote Republican Reps. Scott Allen (Waukesha) and Adam Neylon (Pewaukee) and Senators Chris Kapenga (Delafield) and Rob Hutton (Brookfield).
Underly wrote Waukesha school Superintendent James Sebert and the board this month, slamming their decision to enforce a policy that bans posters and materials relating to controversial issues in classrooms, including thin blue line, pride, and black lives matter signs. In this case, the school banned the song “Rainbowland” from being played at a spring concert.
Wouldn't it be cute if @DrJillUnderly was "deeply troubled"about reading proficiency scores in many districts especially @MilwaukeeMPS …
Dereliction of duty.
Why even have her position? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/UOSLmvIZSI
— Cupcake Schotzie (@schotziejlk) April 22, 2023
Meanwhile, in contrast, Underly has been conspicuously silent over accusations that an 18-year-old who claims transgender status exposed male genitals to multiple 14-year-old freshman girls in a Sun Prairie school locker room.
The legislators pushed back, writing that Underly’s blast to the Waukesha school officials “has nothing to do with helping students access quality public education, enrichment opportunities or special education…Instead, your letter is political activism that does not belong in our schools. We are proud of our school district and its actions because they did what was best for its students and in line with what the parents of the district wanted.”
The legislators skewered Underly for speaking “of exploring fully and fairly all sides of an issue, and yet you have weighed in on a political-charged issue from one side while completely disregarding the others, and you did it without first speaking to the Waukesha School Board and gathering all of the facts.”
Thank you to @SenatorKapenga, Rep Allen, Rep Neylon, and Senator Hutton for issuing this reminder to @DrJillUnderly. When over half of Wisconsin kids can't read or do math at grade level, she needs to focus on improving public education and not issue veiled political threats. pic.twitter.com/TbksgMBA6n
— Nicole (@BigNicEnergy) April 22, 2023
They accused her of undermining local control. “You should trust that the people of Waukesha have elected a board that represents them,” the legislators wrote. “The policies they enact reflect the values of the local community. This is what local control is all about.”
They added: “We hope that in the future you will take the time to first gather the facts by speaking with the local school district superintendent and board before weighing in publicly on a matter such as this. Perhaps you should spend more time helping school districts increase their reading and math scores instead of stirring up political controversy.”
