Here is an excerpt from our morning Key Reads newsletter:
Governor Evers is not running for re-election. Having won the post twice, he’s going out on his own terms. Lame duck politicians who choose their exit often enjoy a victory lap, but the Governor’s response to the sexual misconduct investigation scandal at the Department of Public Instruction threatens to make his last year in office a shameful one.
As readers of our newsletter know, a Madison-based news outlet, The Cap Times, has run an incredible series of articles about how DPI, which Evers ran for a decade before becoming governor, has failed students in the most horrific way. To make matters worse, they’ve done so in a way that protected abusers and left the public in the dark.
Jill Underly has, to her disgrace, refused their requests for interviews. Now, Evers is also ducking their questions. Moreover, he’s refusing to back bipartisan efforts to crack down on grooming within our public schools.
In response to the scandal and legislative efforts to both define grooming and force greater transparency in the licensing process at DPI, Evers told UpFront’s Matt Smith, “People are getting excited, and I know they want to pick on the Department of Public Instruction. I’m used to that. Been there, done that.”
Wow.
We could be charitable and imagine Governor Evers simply misspoke, or that he isn’t aware of the seriousness of the scandal. However, he has a history of doing the bidding of the influential teachers’ union; and, as the Cap Times points out, he failed to institute greater safeguards and promote greater transparency when he ran DPI.
In his response to Smith, Evers’ first instinct was to defend the system, to defend his old department, and downplay the scandal.
Looks like the ‘Year of the Child’ must be over.
Key reads newsletter 11.17.25
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