WISCONSIN LEGISLATIVE AUDIT BUREAU
AUDIT SUMMARY
Report 02-3
February 2002
Technology for Educational Achievement in Wisconsin (TEACH) Board
The Technology for Educational Achievement in Wisconsin (TEACH) Board was created by 1997
Wisconsin Act 27 to assist public school districts, as well as other educational agencies,
in expanding and upgrading the educational technology needed to take advantage of the
Internet and to train teachers and others in the use of educational technology. Through
fiscal year
The TEACH Board is attached to the Department of Administration for administrative purposes,
but it is an independent agency whose Executive Director is appointed by the Governor. In
TEACH Board Expenditures Totaled $61.3 Million in FY 2000-01
In FY 2000-01, the TEACH Board’s expenditures totaled $61.3 million, including $44.4
million in general purpose revenue (GPR). Almost all of the Board’s expenditures supported
four aid programs for local and regional educational agencies. The largest of these is the
Educational Technology Block Grant program, which distributes block grants to school
districts according to a formula that is based on property values and student population.
In
The Educational Technology Infrastructure Financial Assistance program ($6.2 million in
Limited Information Is Available on Program Effectiveness
School district officials with whom we spoke strongly support TEACH Board programs. However, despite the Board’s efforts to increase reporting, limited information is available on how funds have been used and on program effectiveness.
For example, we found that through FY 2000-01, the Educational Technology Infrastructure
Financial Assistance program helped to fund data and electrical wiring construction for
18,680 classrooms, or an estimated one-third of all K-12 classrooms in Wisconsin.
However, information is not available to show how teaching methods have changed as a
result of these wiring upgrades. Similarly, although approximately $3.2 million was spent
for the operation of 161 full-motion video links in FY 2000-01, comprehensive data are not
available on courses offered over the statewide network created by these video links. The
limited information available shows that a relatively small number of students participate:
an estimated 13,019 students were enrolled in at least one course offered via a video
link in the
The Legislature May Wish to Consider the Board’s Future
The TEACH Board was originally presented to the Legislature as a five-year, $500.0 million program, and it is currently in its fifth year of operation. As TEACH reaches its five-year anniversary, questions can be raised about the future of the Board and its programs, particularly as teacher and classroom experience with technology grows, the State faces a budget shortfall, and technologies that have been key in constructing the statewide video network are no longer manufactured and will be supported through 2005.
The Legislature may wish to consider what reporting requirements should be imposed on
program participants, how new technologies should be assessed, and how TEACH programs
should be funded and structured in the future. It has already identified alternatives to
replace GPR funding for the Educational Technology Block Grant program in
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