MADISON – Senator Eric Wimberger (R-Gillett) released the following statement encouraging the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) to continue its investigation into allegations of grooming and sexual assault in the Oconto Falls School District as described in a recent federal lawsuit, including against David Heisel, a teacher at the District who recently voluntarily surrendered his teaching license:
“The highest responsibility of any education official is to ensure our children are safe at school, especially from predators disguising themselves as authority figures. Ending the Heisel investigation early will not only betray the public’s trust, but deny the chance of restoring accountability for the victims who came forward.
I am calling on DPI to continue investigating the Oconto Falls situation, even after David Heisel surrendered his license. These allegations deserve a full and proper examination so our community can transparently know what happened, when it happened, and who knew about the misconduct occurring in our schools.”
According to DPI, the Department’s policy is to terminate investigations into allegations of sexual misconduct by teachers as part of a settlement when the teacher voluntarily surrenders his or her teaching license. DPI records show that Mr. Heisel voluntarily surrendered his license to the Department as of March 31.
The issue of teacher licensure after misconduct allegations came to light statewide last fall, when the Capital Times published a series on accusations of educator grooming and sexual misconduct in Wisconsin’s schools. Last November, as co-chair of the Joint Legislative Audit Committee, Senator Wimberger led the committee in approving an audit to examine DPI’s policies for tracking teachers accused of grooming or sexual misconduct.
