Benson voiced passionate opposition to the scheme. Public schools should not be helping corporations exploit children, he explained. That refreshingly straightforward response serves as a reminder of the importance of the superintendent's office as a bully pulpit against forces that would abandon Wisconsin's commitment to public education in favor of the money-making schemes that have infected education policy debates. With his opposition to the commercialization of public schools, his criticism of voucher schemes and his questioning on the University of Wisconsin's sleazy deal with the Reebok shoe corporation, Benson set a high standard. It is against that standard that candidates to replace him in Tuesday's primary for superintendent should be measured.
Several candidates fail to measure up because they are simply wrong on the issues.
Linda Cross, who has twice lost races for the post, achieves the amazing feat of being wrong on every issue. Yet, she is a viable candidate in a field where few of her foes have distinguished themselves. Former Dane County Executive Jonathan Barry is more moderate than Cross, but his fuzzy positions and his close links to Republican supporters of vouchers ought to raise real concerns. Milwaukee high school principal Tom Balistreri and DPI consultant Dean Gagnon sound better on the issues but have failed to mount the sort of serious statewide campaigns that could displace Cross or Barry in the primary to select two contenders for April's runoff. That leaves progressive voters looking at Madison West Principal Elizabeth Burmaster and former Verona Schools Superintendent Tony Evers.