Following redistricting, the Republican incumbent for Wisconsin State Assembly District 61 is Bob Donovan, who currently represents District 84. Rep. Donovan voted for AB 900, the school voucher bill that would have changed the way school voucher programs are funded, having funds come directly from state general purpose revenue. Democrats opposed the bill, with Democratic lawmaker Kristina Shelton stating, “[i]t is not possible to talk about shifting such a significant component of funding for some schools without having an understanding of the larger picture…[i]t’s like taking one piece of a puzzle away without being able to see what the whole puzzle is supposed to look like.”

Rep. Donovan also voted for SB 330, which increased taxpayer payments to private voucher schools by between 13 and 33 percent. 

LuAnn Bird is the Democratic candidate for Wisconsin State Assembly District 61. Bird was elected to the Whitnall School Board, where she created a coalition of leaders from surrounding school districts to build partnerships. Bird has stated that “[e]xtraordinary schools contribute to extraordinary communities” and that we “cannot continue the trend of attacking and underfunding our public schools.”

According to her campaign website, “[i]n Wisconsin, a recent report showed that the average teacher’s salary is down 13% in the last 10 years. We need to bring back unions that will fight for the higher salaries and fair benefits our hard working educators deserve!” 

Bird has been endorsed by the Wisconsin Education Association Council, a teachers union comprised of “educators united to improve public education and the lives of our students.”