MADISONS, Wisconsin (AP) — An audit of the Republican order released Friday found that Wisconsin’s state agencies and the University of Wisconsin system were unable to track the millions of dollars they spent on diversity, equity and inclusive efforts, making it difficult to fully evaluate the initiative.
A highly anticipated report comes inside Push by President Donald Trump End federal support for the DEI program. In Wisconsin, there have been similar efforts by Republicans who control Congress.
The findings of the report are likely to further increase pressure from Republicans.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison, the system’s flagship campus, is one of 50 universities across the country that Trump said. Under investigation Regarding allegations of racism related to the DEI program. UW-Madison is also one of 60 schools federal education authorities are investigating due to accusations that they failed to protect Jewish students during campus protests at the war in Gaza last year.
The audit found that neither UW nor 15 state agencies were audited to track specifically how much money was spent on DEI’s efforts during the 2023-2024 fiscal year ended June 30th.
The audit estimates that millions of dollars have been directed towards DEI activities
The audit could not determine the total amount spent on DEI’s efforts that year, but estimated that the UW system spent about $40 million on an office with DEI-connected duties. The system spent approximately $12.5 million on salary for jobs with an additional $8 million job duties working on DEI-related duties and DEI-related activities.
The report found that 12 state agencies spent approximately $2.2 million on salaries for employment related to DEIs.
The Democratic government’s Tony Evers administration has consistently requested an agency to ensure that the DEI plan is formulated and implemented correctly, the audit found. The agency also did not consistently document the violations of compliance when it corrected its violations, the report said.
The administration warned of drawing conclusions about actual costs associated with the DEI as outlined in the audit.
Kathy Blumenfeld, head of the state’s Department of Management, said much of the costs were related to implementing programs required by law, best practices in human resources, or to workforce retention and recruitment efforts.
GOP pushes to eliminate DEI programs
Legislative Republicans have been pushing for years to end the DEI program. I ordered it last year Reviewed by the nonpartisan Legislative Audit Bureau. Congressional chair Robin Voss has pledged to end the state government’s diversity efforts, saying that such an initiative is “cancer” and that he wants a society that is “truly color blind.”
Under a The contract reached Republicans In 2023, the UW System frozen diversity, relabeling about 40 diversity positions as “student success” positions, and removing the positive behavioral recruitment program at UW-Madison. In exchange, council was paid for staff raises and construction projects.
The auditors found that when the transaction was enacted, the system had at least 123 full-time positions providing DEI services, a job title that contained the terms “diversity, equity, inclusion” or a senior leader position focused on DEI. The number of positions had dropped to 110 by May 2024.
There are currently 64 positions, UW spokesperson Jack Jablonski said Friday.
The governor requested that the agency develop a DEI plan
Evers signed an executive order in 2019, requiring that state agencies develop and monitor equity and inclusion plans to address employment barriers, assess workplaces and evaluate workplaces, promote inclusion and expand professional development to promote a more inclusive culture.
The audit looked at what the agency did to adhere to that order, and how much compliance had costs and consequences.
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