State education agency issues freezes on hiring, travel

 

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Money problems have led the state agency charged with overseeing public K-12 education to pause both new hiring and travel outside of Wisconsin.

According to a memo sent Friday afternoon to staff at the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI), the agency is freezing hiring for all jobs "except for critical positions at the two residential centers" through June 30, the end of the current, two-year state budget.

The DPI memo also states there will be a pause on out-of-state travel. The agency will also consider voluntary reductions in paid working hours if an employee requests them.

"We are not asking you to stop supporting schools, educators, and kids," Deputy State Superintendent Tom McCarthy said in the memo. "We are asking you to take a critical look at how you are spending your budget and your time and prioritize service to schools."

In a statement Tuesday, McCarthy confirmed the spending changes. He cited a $2.3 million reduction in state funding for the DPI's administrative costs as a key contributor to the agency's fiscal strain.

"Public education in Wisconsin has faced chronic underfunding, largely due to deliberate choices made by lawmakers who have not prioritized our schools. This has also impacted the DPI," McCarthy said in the statement. "We’ve focused on directing resources where they matter most: to support our schools and students, even if it means sacrificing some of the agency's own needs."

State Sen. John Jagler (R-Watertown), who chairs the Senate's education committee, said at first glance, he was pleased to see the DPI pump the brakes on spending.

Beyond that, however, he said he expected lawmakers to take a closer look at why the agency found itself running low on money with more than five months remaining in the fiscal year.

"My general reaction when I hear a state agency is looking at a hiring freeze or looking at banning out-of-state travel is, 'Great! Welcome to the fiscal responsibility path,'" Jagler said. "I think we should just put some eyeballs, some more eyeballs on DPI. What are they doing with the funding? What is going on internally with DPI?"

While the agency's state funding was reduced, schools, themselves, saw an increase in state funding during the current budget.

McCarthy's memo noted the DPI relies heavily on both state and federal funding. It made note of federal pandemic aid that is on the verge of being exhausted by state and local government bodies across the U.S., prompting a need for the agency to "change spending habits to reflect the new normal."

"To improve our budget, we must work together to leverage our resources more effectively to improve opportunities for our schools and kids," the memo read.

GOP bill seeks to undo test score changes

Jagler co-authored a bill Republicans rolled out Tuesday that targets the DPI. Specifically, it aims to undo changes the agency made last year the scoring scale that determines whether students performed at an advanced level or met expectations on the annual Forward Exam standardized test.

Critics of the changes have said the scale shift will make it nearly impossible to perform a true year-to-year comparison with data that precede the change. Jagler said that was why the bill specifies the DPI would need to use the scale that was previously in effect.

"That's really important when you look back at the pandemic," he said. "When we're trying to look at the effect of the kids that were kind of lost in the pandemic to see if they've gotten back on track."

Underly and DPI officials maintain the changes better align the state's system with the Wisconsin test. Previously, the scale was aligned with national standards, which Underly has said are unreasonably strict. She's noted other states, including Oklahoma and New York, have also lowered their cut scores.

"Standards have not been lowered," Underly said in a statement Tuesday. "The department updated achievement benchmarks for the Forward Exam this summer in a transparent process, and reflecting the recommendations of nearly 100 experts from across the state."

Jagler questioned how transparent the process was. He pointed to language in the DPI's call for educators to participate in the testing alignment process. It notes applicants must sign a non-disclosure agreement.

Underly is running for reelection this spring. The two candidates challenging her both issued statements Tuesday in support of the GOP bill.

Sauk Prairie Superintendent Jeff Wright said he backs the bill's effort to restore the old scale and added, "It's unfortunate that the Legislature has to step in. This is happening because of the absence of system-wide collaboration and open communication."

Milwaukee-based literacy consultant Brittany Kinser said, "Lowering standards deprives our kids of the opportunity to be college- or career-ready, and that is unacceptable in Wisconsin."

Gov. Tony Evers, who previously served as state superintendent, has criticized the scale changes. Evers previously said he didn't agree with lowering testing standards, and earlier this month, told reporters the DPI should've consulted with more people before making the changes.