Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley won the Democratic primary for governor with the decisive backing of Gov. Tony Evers. Evers did more than endorse him—he campaigned hard and persuaded Crowley to re-enter the race specifically to stop DSA candidate Francesca Hong. That political debt is real. Now Crowley faces an early, clarifying test on the issue he claims is among his highest priorities: education.
Will Crowley lobby Governor Evers to opt Wisconsin into the new Federal Scholarship Tax Credit?
The program, formally known as the Education Freedom Tax Credit, begins January 1, 2027. It allows individual taxpayers a dollar-for-dollar federal tax credit of up to $1,700 for cash donations to approved nonprofit Scholarship Granting Organizations. Those scholarships can fund private school tuition, tutoring, and other educational services that help students who are struggling—whether they attend public or private schools.
There is one critical condition: each state must opt in. Governor Evers has already said Wisconsin will not. Because Evers remains in office until January 12, 2027, the window to reverse that decision is short and closing. Crowley, as the newly nominated Democratic candidate and the governor’s preferred successor, is uniquely positioned to demand that Evers change course before the deadline.
There is no cost to the State of Wisconsin. Participation does not divert a single dollar from public schools. It simply allows Wisconsin taxpayers who already want to support educational opportunity to do so more effectively—and to keep the benefit inside Wisconsin.
If Wisconsin stays out, the money leaves. I intend to claim the credit and donate $1,700. I would far rather see that support a Wisconsin child who needs tutoring or a better educational option. If our state refuses to participate, that same contribution will instead help my nieces and nephews—or other students—in New York, Michigan, Illinois, or Florida. Multiply that choice across thousands of Wisconsin taxpayers and the result is clear: millions of dollars in potential scholarship aid flowing out of state to children elsewhere while ours are locked out.
Crowley has spoken repeatedly about giving families the tools they need to succeed. This program is precisely such a tool. The only coherent reason to reject it is political loyalty to the teachers unions that prioritize their institutional power over the children they too often fail. That is not leadership. It is surrender.
So the questions for Crowley are direct and public:
Will you urge Governor Evers—your chief political benefactor—to reverse his position and opt Wisconsin into the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit before January 1?
If elected, will you support participation yourself?
If the answer is no, explain what Wisconsin families gain by watching their neighbors’ tax-credit dollars leave the state while their own children are denied access.
Crowley asked voters to see him as more than an extension of Tony Evers. He won that primary. He does not get to claim independence only when it is convenient.
On education, silence or “I agree with the governor” is not an answer. It is a failure of leadership that would deny Wisconsin children a no-cost federal program while allowing millions of Wisconsin dollars to subsidize opportunity in other states.
David Crowley should tell Wisconsin families, clearly and without evasion, whether he will fight for their children—or whether he will protect the status quo that has already failed too many of them.
