Lawmakers are withholding a tenth of the state Department of Public Instruction’s budget over a report that showed the department spent nearly $369,000 on a four-day workshop at a Wisconsin Dells resort in 2024.
An article in the Feb. 6, 2026 issue of the Wisconsin State Journal in Madison covered the decision. According to the story:
If the $1 million in withheld money is not released soon, an agency spokesperson said, it could mean layoffs.
On Tuesday, Rep. Mark Born, R-Beaver Dam, co-chair of the Legislature’s budget committee, said lawmakers would consider the department’s request for the remainder of its operating budget the committee withheld at a later date.
“Since it’s so new, we just want the opportunity to at least review what’s going on there with this questionable use of funds, at least according to that report,” Born said. “We just want to hit pause on that.”
Earlier Tuesday, the Dairyland Sentinel, a newsletter published by conservative operative Brian Fraley, questioned the cost and secrecy surrounding the work by dozens of educators to reconsider assessment standards for the state’s Forward Exam.
In 2024, the department changed what it meant for students to be considered “proficient” in reading and math on the Forward Exam, which also affected how DPI’s report cards for schools are calculated. Fraley requested records of the conference under the state’s open records law, some of which he said were finally released after he retained a lawyer. The records did not include receipts for the four-day workshop at Chula Vista, Fraley wrote.
“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,” Fraley wrote.
In a statement, DPI spokesperson Chris Bucher said not all of the money went to Chula Vista. That figure includes staff salaries, hotel costs, and payments to third-party vendor Data Recognition Corporation, which creates the Forward Exam, to complete the work, he said.
The workshop was held at Chula Vista to support Wisconsin tourism and cut down on travel costs, Bucher said, adding that’s a “common approach” used by two dozen other states that contract with Data Recognition Corporation.
Born said the budget committee intends to meet in the coming weeks.
DPI’s administrative operating budget for the next two years has already been trimmed by 10% compared to the previous budget. Its overall budget, which includes money it doles out to schools, saw an increase of $555 million in special education funding.
