Kind Encourages DPI and DOA to Re-examine Statewide Student Information System Procurement Decision

Press Release

U.S. Rep. Ron Kind today sent a letter to Mike Huebsch, Secretary of the Department of Administration and Tony Evers, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, stating concerns about possible discrepancies in the evaluation and analysis of Skyward's proposal during the Department of Administration's procurement process for a Statewide Student Information System (SIS).

"It's time to put people first. And that means maintaining good-paying jobs in our state and limiting the tax burden on hard working Wisconsin families," said Rep. Kind. "The decision made in the SIS procurement process not only appears flawed and obscure, but the result is clearly not in the best interests of our schools or Wisconsinites."

The letter states, "The company [Skyward] employs over 280 people and had plans to create 500 new jobs in Wisconsin over the next 10 years. If the current contract decisions stands, hundreds of Wisconsin jobs and future job opportunities may be lost. For these reasons, I urge you to conduct an independent and transparent review of the SIS selection process."

The 2011 Wisconsin State Budget required the Department of Public Instruction to establish a statewide student information system (SIS). Seven vendors were considered in the procurement process for the state-wide contract. The Department of Administration recently awarded the contract to Infinite Campus, a Minnesota-based vendor that currently serves only 10 percent of Wisconsin school districts, over Skyward, a Wisconsin-based vendor that currently serves over 50 percent of school districts in the state.

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