State lawmakers will hold a public hearing Wednesday to examine the Department of Public Instruction’s administration of student assessment contracts and associated expenditures.

By Brian Fraley, Dairyland Sentinel

Questions over DPI’s handling of public meetings and public records remain. The Wisconsin Legislature wants answers.

The Assembly Committee on Government Operations, Accountability, and Transparency, often called the GOAT committee, is scheduled to meet at 10 a.m. in Room 415 Northwest of the State Capitol. This session follows reports from the Dairyland Sentinel that revealed a controversial 2024 Waterpark Workshop at the Chula Vista Resort in Wisconsin Dells.

Records show hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxpayer funds covered vendor costs, catering, audio visual services and stipends for an 88 person advisory committee. That group was tasked with resetting the benchmarks for the state Forward Exam, behind closed doors. Critics noted the public was largely shut out of the policy meeting and subsequent discussions.

Legislative interest in the project grew after the Department of Public Instruction initially declined to provide Dairyland Sentinel with itemized receipts for the workshop. The agency eventually released some records after receiving a formal demand from the Institute for Reforming Government and following pressure from the Wisconsin Department of Justice.

The controversy centers on a $368,885 “Waterpark Workshop” hosted by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction in June 2024. Investigative reporting by Dairyland Sentinel revealed that the agency used taxpayer funds for a four-day retreat at the Chula Vista Resort in Wisconsin Dells. Months after our initial report, we learned these expenses covered catering, lodging and stipends for a hand-picked 88-person advisory committee that DPI contends changed education policy. While the resort is a well-respected and popular tourist destination with multiple water parks, the Department maintains that the spending for the four day “Workshop” was a standard part of overhauling the state student assessment system.

Transparency concerns have intensified the dispute because the department spent 14 months resisting public records requests for itemized receipts and internal communications. Dairyland Sentinel and the Institute for Reforming Government finally secured some documents after a formal demand and intervention by the state Department of Justice. The records show the retreat was part of a larger $8.2 million project managed by a private vendor, Data Recognition Corporation. Despite the multimillion-dollar cost, the department claims it has no recordings or official minutes from the sessions where the new education standards were determined.

Critics argue the process was used to hide poor academic performance by lowering the bar for student success. After the benchmarks were reset, state test scores saw an immediate and significant jump, leading to accusations that the department is trying to “dumb down” proficiency requirements.

The GOAT committee is now examining why such a major policy shift happened in private, away from the State Capitol and why the mechanics of the decision-making process remain hidden from the public to this day.

It took fourteen months, a mountain of ignored requests, the retention of a respected public policy legal powerhouse and a formal intervention by the Wisconsin Attorney General to finally see more of the picture. But now that the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) has been forced to open its books, the picture emerging is one of calculated stonewalling and staggering taxpayer expense.
Brian Fraley, publisher, Dairyland Sentinel

The official notice indicates the hearing’s focus will be: Department of Public Instruction policies, procedures, and compliance regarding open meetings laws and open records laws; standard-setting and benchmarking process for the Forward Exam.

DPI Superintendent Jill Underly and IRG General Counsel Jake Curtis have been invited to testify.

We remain hopeful the public learns more about why the public policy work and public records surrounding the standards setting project remain hidden.

The GOAT committee was created at the start of the 2025-26 legislative session to root out waste and modernize state agency operations. Led by Rep. Amanda Nedweski, a Republican from Pleasant Prairie, the panel functions as a state level version of a government efficiency office. Members focus on agency performance, reviewing work from home policies and identifying bureaucratic bloat.

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, a Rochester Republican, championed the committee as a way to ensure Wisconsin residents see a better return on their investment. Vos said during the committee’s launch that one of the big ideas is looking at how the state can reform government. He has frequently stated that state agencies should treat taxpayers like customers and use technology to increase efficiency.

Wednesday’s hearing will feature testimony regarding the DPI’s assessment contracts and the transparency of its financial decisions.