The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is reporting that State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Evers will be launching his campaign for governor officially on Wednesday:
Evers, who heads the state Department of Public Instruction, will announce his run at a suburban Madison park for children, according to an email sent to supporters Sunday and obtained by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
The venue at McKee Farms Park in Fitchburg will highlight Evers’ main credential for voters – his years working on behalf of children as a local school leader and state education official.
“On Wednesday, Tony will officially announce his run for governor because we need a real change here in Wisconsin. That change starts with putting our kids first, investing in our schools, and rebuilding Wisconsin’s middle class,” according to an email sent from the personal account of Jeff Pertl, a top aide to Evers in the superintendent’s office.
The Republican Party of Wisconsin (RPW) is greeting Evers’ entry into the race with a digital ad attacking the superintendent’s refusal to fire a Middleton-Cross Plains Area School Districts teacher caught watching pornography on a school computer.
Digital ad by the Republican Party of Wisconsin appearing on Facebook and Google Adsense attacking Tony Evers
The link for the ad takes a reader to the RPW website where the party points out Evers’ role in allowing the teacher back on the job. Evers claimed at the time that the viewing of pornography did not reach the standard of immoral conduct under the law at the time the incident occurred.
The RPW also points out that Evers has a history of siding with school employees accused of misconduct in the workplace.
In 2014, Watchdog reported several cases where Evers allowed teachers and school administrators to retain their teaching licenses after gross misconduct was found, including lewd behavior involving students. In one case, a former Oregon School District teacher allegedly sent jokes about masturbation and oral sex, including cartoon depictions, to high school boys using her cell phone. The teacher was allowed to keep her license.
