The state Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee delayed voting on the Department of Public Instruction’s request to release operating funds Feb. 3, following a report from a conservative news outlet that criticized the agency for hosting a four-day event at a water park in Wisconsin Dells.

The report from the Dairyland Sentinel found the Department of Public Instruction, which oversees Wisconsin’s public education, spent $368,885 to host a workshop on the Forward Exams in June 2024 at Chula Vista Resort. The hotel and water park regularly serve as a venue for meetings, conferences and events, including the 2017 Wisconsin Republican Party convention and last year’s state Democratic Party convention.