January 1, Wisconsin DPI Hides Spending on Waterpark Workshop

Wyatt’s Take

• The Wisconsin DPI spent taxpayer money on a secretive waterpark retreat.
• Officials refuse to name the experts involved or disclose costs.
• Laws require transparency about how our money gets used, but answers are missing.

The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction took tax dollars to run a four-day workshop at a waterpark and later raised student proficiency numbers by changing standards. When asked for records or names of the “experts” involved, officials at DPI have dodged questions for over a year.

Superintendent Jill Underly promised transparent decisions but hasn’t delivered. Reports found that DPI forced attendees to sign non-disclosure agreements. While they claimed to use recommendations from “nearly 100 experts,” no list of these participants or selection details have been released.

“Remember how we got here. Wisconsin’s state superintendent was ducking responsibility for changes in the benchmarks to the state’s forward exam.”

The Institute for Reforming Government has demanded the DPI hand over records, contracts, and expenses related to the workshops. Despite clear requirements in state law for fast responses, DPI has stalled, even denying the existence of some paperwork.

Groups pressing for answers aren’t making criminal accusations. They just want simple facts about the retreat, the cost, and why the standards changed. Meanwhile, worries grow that standards may have been watered down just to show higher test scores, leaving students behind.

“DPI owes the public a basic accounting of its use of hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars to fund an extravagant retreat, to say nothing of its dilution of statewide proficiency standards to hide poor academic performance. But if DPI also broke Wisconsin’s Public Meetings law in conducting these activities in secret, serious practical consequences could follow.”

Families across Wisconsin have a right to see how schools spend their money and what’s truly happening behind closed doors in education.

Wyatt Matters

In Middle America, honesty from leaders is expected, especially about how they spend our hard-earned tax dollars. When officials hide details about education standards and spending, it hits families in the heartland the hardest.

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