The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction isn’t being transparent about school finances. Although September 30 was the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief III (ESSER III) deadline, $13 million is still not transparent.
What Happened: The Institute for Reforming Government had tracked and analyzed every dollar obligated by schools from the $1.49 billion ESSER III pandemic recovery fund. We drove accountability in the press and attention in Madison. We should have a report in your inbox analyzing how schools used these precious funds.
But there is a problem. DPI didn’t finish its homework. The deadline to obligate those funds was September 30, 2024. Over a month later, every district’s allotment should be at $0.00.
However, that is not the case. DPI is missing an immense amount of information in its reports, making tracking impossible.
- Over $13 million was not obligated, according to DPI. Did districts really forfeit $13 million, or has DPI failed to account for every dollar to the public?
- Certain districts have gone over their allotments by a combined $300,000, according to DPI. Was there actual overrun, or has DPI failed to account for every dollar to the public?
- Since May, certain districts lack descriptions of their line items, preventing the public from interpreting how millions of dollars have been obligated. DPI has corrected some of the errors, but over 100 districts still have missing data. Why has this not been fixed yet?
What’s Next: We’re calling out DPI’s tardiness to the media, legislators, and you. DPI has attacked IRG before for successfully driving transparency and swiftness for federal funds essential to students’ recovery. But IRG won’t stop until ESSER III is fully accountable to taxpayers. In fact, DPI’s oversight process in 2023 and 2024 could become a facet of the Legislative Audit Bureau’s audit of DPI.
We will keep you updated on every last dollar.
CJ Szafir
CEO
Institute for Reforming Government
