By Brian Fraley, Dairyland Sentinel Publisher

The stonewalling continues.

For more than fifteen months now, the Department of Public Instruction treated Wisconsin’s public records law as optional. It took repeated requests, months of silence and the eventual involvement of the Wisconsin Assistant Attorney General to prod the agency to (partially) comply. Now that the records are finally coming out, the reason for the stonewalling is becoming clear.

No matter how much DPI and their enablers care to muddy the waters.

The documents obtained by Dairyland Sentinel show a deliberate effort to spend nearly $370,000 of taxpayer money on a four-day “Waterpark Workshop” at the Chula Vista Resort in the Wisconsin Dells. While families across the state were dealing with inflation, stagnant academic achievement and declining literacy, 88 invited educators were sequestered at a luxury resort to decide the future of Wisconsin’s academic standards behind closed doors.

The legislature is now demanding answers. As it has been with our pursuit of their public records, answers and clarity from the Department continues to be a slog.

A “Distraction” From the Mission

The Assembly’s Committee on Government Operations, Accountability and Transparency convened a public hearing Wednesday to examine the Waterpark Workshop. the broader Forward Exam standard-setting process and the Department of Public Instruction’s procedures regarding public records and public meetings. But DPI’s legislative liaison, Andrew Hoyer-Booth, opened the hearing by telling lawmakers they should not expect many answers.

“The department welcomes on-going engagement with the legislature… Unfortunately, this committee’s desire to discuss the standard-setting and benchmarking process for the Forward Exam is a distraction from that mission,” Hoyer-Booth said.

Wow.

Calling oversight of millions in spending and the potential lowering of student proficiency standards a “distraction” sure is dismissive. It also raises new questions about why the agency fought so hard to keep its work out of public view.

Underly’s Own Words Undercut DPI’s Defense

In December 2024, Superintendent Jill Underly publicly defended the process, writing:

“I tasked a diverse group of nearly 100 Wisconsin educators… to review and update our measures over the summer… This necessary process was performed in a very open and transparent manner.”

Underly’s own description confirms that the Waterpark Workshop was not an informal discussion. It was empowered to “review and update our measures” …a policymaking function that triggers Wisconsin’s Open Meetings Law, which requires advance notice, public access and recorded minutes.

None of that occurred.

DPI may now label the so-called experts as an “informal workgroup” brought together by a third party vendor to avoid further scrutiny, but the law does not allow an agency to sidestep open meetings requirements simply by renaming a committee.

This is not a dispute about the “spirit” of transparency. The 2024-2025 conduct described by DPI and DRC falls under Wisconsin’s Open Meetings Law and Wisconsin’s Public Records Law, both of which exist to prevent exactly this kind of closed-door policymaking.

Dairyland Sentinel Publisher Brian Fraley

“Mind-Blowing” Costs and Closed-Door Decisions

Committee Chair Amanda Nedweski led the charge and pressed the agency on why the process that determines what it means for a Wisconsin student to be proficient in reading and math was finalized without public involvement or scrutiny.

“You’re setting very, very impactful policy… You don’t think there should have been any public involvement?” Nedweski asked. “I’m looking at the summary cost for this one event. It’s pretty mind-blowing to spend almost $400,000 on a conference for 88 people and one vendor.”

As Dairyland Sentinel has reported, DPI shielded these sessions from public view, used non-disclosure agreements and kept the meetings off public calendars. That approach contradicts Underly’s claim that the process was “very open and transparent” and erodes public trust.

Booth, Judge and the “We Weren’t There” Defense

Throughout the hearing, Hoyer-Booth and DPI official Rich Judge repeatedly feigned ignorance about the Waterpark Workshop and the standard-setting process. Both emphasized that they were not DPI employees at the time of the 2024 conference. And beyond that, they argued, the entire process was conducted by Data Recognition Corporation, not DPI.

When lawmakers asked specific questions about the workshop, the process or the decisions made at the Dells, the pair insisted those questions should be directed to DRC. They further contended that DRC is not subject to Wisconsin’s Open Meetings Law and that the work it conducted is not covered under Wisconsin’s public records statutes.

That argument, if accepted, would create a blueprint for outsourcing policymaking to private vendors in order to avoid transparency. Wisconsin law does not allow a state agency to contract its way out of public accountability. If a private vendor is performing the duties of a public body, the public’s rights follow the work.

IRG steps up

We have enlisted the legal assistance of the Institute for Reforming Government. Along with their efforts on behalf of Dairyland Sentinel, IRG also testified at Wednesday’s hearing about their concern that DPI is relying on DRC to skirt the law as it pertains to open meetings.

“The actions of DPI exposed by IRG and Dairyland Sentinel are the antithesis of transparency,” said IRG General Counsel Jake Curtis. “[F]rankly all taxpayers deserve to hear from those public officials most responsible for measuring student progress, or lack thereof.”

Senator Wimberger: The Audit Is Coming

Pressure on DPI increased as state leaders responded to the hearing. Senator Eric Wimberger of Gillett, co-chair of the Joint Legislative Audit Committee, issued a statement criticizing the agency’s continued refusal to release records.

“Today’s hearing once again shows that DPI is actively withholding records from the public over its attempt to quietly lower school standards behind closed doors,” Wimberger said.

The Legislative Audit Bureau is expected to release its findings in the coming weeks.

Why This Matters

When an agency spends $368,885 on a resort retreat to potentially mask declining performance, it raises serious questions about priorities and governance.

If proficiency levels are recalibrated to make failing scores appear acceptable, the only beneficiaries are the administrators who want to avoid accountability. Students do not learn more because the bar is lowered. Parents do not gain clarity when the state obscures the truth. Taxpayers do not get value when public records are withheld for more than a year.

Wisconsin cannot build a stronger education system by hiding the blueprints in a waterpark.

But the issue if far larger than the Waterpark Workshop, or even DPI.

Jill Underly is undermining Wisconsin’s respected public records and open meeting law. If DPI prevails in creating this new “vendor” exception to Wisconsin’s government transparency provisions, Wisconsinites will be kept in the dark on future policy changes across the board.

That’s what’s at stake here.

It does cost time, money and manpower, but Dairyland Sentinel will continue to pursue every record and every detail until the full story is public. Wisconsin’s students, parents, lawmakers, journalists, and taxpayers deserve more than “mind-blowing” bills and secret meetings.

They deserve policymaking that is transparent, accountable and policy makers who are committed to the truth.