Investigation: Wisconsin’s DPI took uncommon approach with Dells conference

By Jon Styf
The Center Square

Wisconsin’s K-12 education leadership group said that its $368,000 standards-setting meeting in 2024 at a waterpark in the Wisconsin Dells was a “common approach” for state educational leaders across the country and in the two dozen other states that work with Data Recognition Corp. for testing.

But an investigation from The Center Square on standards-setting meetings and processes across the country showed that, while some other states that work with the company do hold in-person meetings, those meetings are all in capital cities with only participants who travel more than 50 miles to the conference utilizing overnight stays.

The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction’s meeting in the Wisconsin Dells, however, meant that DPI staff also stayed at the water park, according to documents obtained by the Dairyland Sentinel through public records requests.

Some other states, such as Ohio and Minnesota, hold meetings remotely while neighboring Illinois does not work with Data Recognition Corp. but did its standards setting process in a mainly remote fashion as well.

Other states, such as Tennessee, hold smaller committee meetings such as the state’s standards review committees that will meet in Chattanooga this summer. Others hold regional small committee meetings.

But none matches up to meetings like DPI held at Chula Vista Resort.

DPI spokesperson Chris Bucher did not respond to questions from The Center Square asking for further details after he told other media outlets that the location was aimed at supporting Wisconsin tourism and stating the Wisconsin Dells meeting was a “common approach.”

Bucher said the company does testing in two dozen states.

A spokesperson for Data Recognition Corp. also did not respond to a request for comment from The Center Square on how it operates.

Data Recognition Corp., led by former Republican Wisconsin Senate Minority Leader Susan Engeleiter, reportedly signed a nearly $80 million 10-year contract with Wisconsin to operate its testing and create the Forward Exam after initially bidding $63 million on the contract.

The Wisconsin Democracy Campaign questioned Engeleiter’s donations to Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker when the deal was signed. Gov. Tony Evers was the state school superintendent at the time.

Dairyland Sentinel and the Institute for Reforming Government are working together to fight for DPI to release a copy of a signed contract between DPI and Data Recognition Corp.

Questions regarding spending on the conference recently led Wisconsin’s Joint Committee on Finance to delay $1 million in a funding request to DPI.

“We just want to have the opportunity to at least review what’s going on there with this questionable use of funds,” Joint Finance Committee co-chair Mark Born said. “We just want to hit pause on that.”

IRG’s General Counsel and Director of its Center for Investigative Oversight Jake Curtis told The Center Square that, while the conference spending raised eyebrows and drew headlines, he believes the 88-member standards-setting group filled with school employees and leaders fits the exact definition of an Ad Hoc Committee and that meetings of that committee should be public and not subject to the non-disclosure agreements signed by conference attendees.

“In Wisconsin, we have very robust open meetings laws, public records laws and we have a strong sunshine set of laws in Wisconsin,” Curtis told The Center Square. “What the Department of Public Instruction did here was pretty obvious, just did not want the scrutiny from the public. And that’s frankly why it’s such a problem for DPI.”