(The Center Square) – Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction Superintendent Jill Underly had two events on her calendar marked “private appointment” and another at noon April 15, the day an Assembly committee meeting was scheduled to look into a 2024 standards-setting conference her department held in the Wisconsin Dells.
Underly did not attend the hearing, instead sending two members of her staff who did not work in the department at the time of the conference. The calendar was released after a public records request from The Center Square for Underly’s calendar and communications during the meeting.
The staff members who attended the hearing told the Assembly Committee on Government Operations, Accountability and Transparency that Underly was unavailable to attend the meeting on short notice.
“We received extremely short notice on this hearing,” DPI spokesperson Chris Bucher told The Center Square on the day of the committee hearing. “The very best staff equipped to address questions about open records, from our Division of Government and Public Affairs, were in the room. If the committee sincerely wanted to ensure availability, they would not be scheduling hearings with such short notice.”
Underly also failed to attend an October committee meeting on DPI’s handling of sexual misconduct from registered teachers across the state, which is now the subject of an audit expected to be released soon.
The response to the public records request did not include any text messages but did include several emails from and to DPI staff members during the hearing. The response redacted Underly’s email address.
DPI said that it gives lawmakers earlier notice of events than DPI received from the committee.
“At the DPI, we take a very different approach,” Bucher wrote. “We make a point of providing legislators with ample notice and meaningful opportunities to engage. For example, we invited Rep. Nedweski to join Dr. Underly on a visit to a Blue Ribbon School well in advance, specifically to allow for proper planning and participation. You can find Dr. Underly promoting this collaboration and the visit with Rep. Nedweski here on her Facebook. That is what good-faith collaboration looks like.”
At the hearing, DPI representatives claimed that records from the standards-setting conference in the Dells involving the 88-member committee that met were not subject to open meetings or open records disclosure because the conference was setup by vendor Data Recognition Corp.
Committee Chair Rep. Amanda Nedweski, R-Pleasant Prairie, had the legislative legal affairs department read from state law that included a stipulation that a private company contracted to do public work had to follow the same record-keeping and notice process as a public entity.
Also, Institute for Reforming Government General Counsel Jake Curtis testified he believed prior case law was clear that the 88-member committee constituted an Ad Hoc Committee that should hold its meetings publicly.
IRG filed a complaint in Adams County Court about the meeting and plans to file a legal action on the meeting if no further action is taken by the court.
“Wisconsin case law is clear,” Curtis told the committee. “… The DOJ compliance guide is extremely clear on this.”
