By Brian Fraley, Dairyland Sentinel Publisher

More than a year after the Dairyland Sentinel first sought public records regarding the overhaul of Wisconsin’s student performance benchmarks, the Department of Public Instruction has finally released another handful of internal documents. The new disclosures were forced only after the Dairyland Sentinel retained legal counsel through the Institute for Reforming Government.

The records obtained by the Dairyland Sentinel reveal a process defined by high taxpayer costs and a strict, threatening vow of silence.

The documents concern the “standard setting” process used to redefine what it means for a Wisconsin student to be “proficient” in reading and math. Following a formal demand letter from IRG last month, the Department of Public Instruction late Monday released 17 pages of internal recruitment emails, applications, and non-disclosure agreements. Many of these records were withheld during the agency’s original response in February 2025, which at the time only provided a pre-packaged 324 page technical summary.

The newly released records confirm a staggering price tag for the four-day event. In an email to the Dairyland Sentinel, the DPI confirmed the line-item cost for the standard setting workshop was $368,885. The event was held in June 2024 at the Chula Vista Resort in Wisconsin Dells, a premier destination known for luxury amenities, including massive indoor and outdoor water parks, spa services, and multiple bars.

After a year of stonewalling by DPI, the team at the Institute for Reforming Government turned up the heat and got results. But the Department of Public Instruction continues to fail to comply with both the spirit and the letter of Wisconsin’s Open Records statutes.

While the DPI provided the summary of results of the conference last year, and total cost of the junket yesterday, it failed to provide the itemized listing of expenditures requested by the Dairyland Sentinel. The agency did not provide receipts for staff time, food, travel, or lodging. Taxpayers are left to wonder how much of that $368,885 was spent on resort amenities, alcohol, or water park access for the 88 educators and various staff in attendance.

It is understandable that student information and the answers to the tests be kept confidential. But the Non Disclosure Agreement conferees were under was far more encompassing. Participants had to agree that they “will not share …workshop feedback, or workshop recommendations on any media, including social media.”

The level of secrecy surrounding the workshop is notable for a public agency. This was not merely about protecting copyrighted test questions: it was a broad gag order on the very deliberations used to redefine student success in Wisconsin.

DPI officials confirmed there are no recordings and didn’t provide requested meeting minutes from the event. Participants were required to leave all notes in the meeting room, where they were collected by facilitators. This raises a fundamental question of government accountability: if there were no official notes, no minutes, and no recordings, how was the final 324-page technical report actually written? Without primary records, the public is forced to trust a curated summary produced by a third-party contractor.

Dairyland Sentinel also discovered DPI made no effort to include a balance of perspectives among workshop participants, beyond relying on identity politics. They sought “diverse points-of-view” by hand picking workshop participants from different areas of the state.

“All participants for the workshop committee were recruited, selected, and invited to the workshop by DPI. The recruitment process strived to empanel a sample of participants for the standard setting with diverse demographics (e.g., ethnicity, gender) and diverse points-of-view (e.g., geographic location),” the report reads.

The official record also suggests the “experts” may not have had the final word. The technical report reveals that after the workshop concluded, “DPI staff and its technical advisors examined the educator cut score recommendations and recommended a small number of adjustments” to the scores. Because DPI has not released the notes from the conference, the public cannot know which staff members made these calls or why they felt the educators were wrong. They detail the modifications and refer to changes as “small” and that ‘[e]ach adjustment was made to promote consistency across grades or administrations,” according to the report.

Dairyland Sentinel’s original request in January of 2025 asked for specific vetting discussions for panel participants and documentation regarding ideological diversity of those selected for the four day Chula Vista stay. In response, DPI initially pointed to a public report as if the request had been satisfied. This tactic delayed the release of actual internal records for nearly 12 months.

Under the new state standards, Proficiency rates jumped 12% under the new state benchmarks, causing a majority of students to “meet expectations.” Critics argue the bar has been lowered to make state averages look more favorable. With nearly $400,000 in taxpayer funds spent at a water park resort to produce these results, Wisconsin taxpayers deserve to know the truth of who made the decisions and why they were made.

More than one year after the request for records that by law the Department must turn over, the DPI has provided a few answers, but some of the most important facts remain hidden.

This is a developing story.

Published 10:06am, February 3, 2026: https://dairylandsentinel.com/wisconsin-dpi-water-park-spending-investigation/?fbclid=IwY2xjawPvUX5leHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeNjL1Ab9awYsGXbje5KhCVeuRbb69IjOAeVAWT83oe2Y8e2HxWAEzLF6ZMUQ_aem_MeJiIj9WNttrljYIPJKrsg