While the police report says there was not enough evidence to prove a violation of Wisconsin Criminal Code, it says the school district ignored conflict of interest issues, violated its own policies, and “failed to act” until FOX6 investigated.
A spokesperson for Wauwatosa Police declined an on-camera interview, but a police source not authorized to go on camera said, “There may be no criminal charges, but that doesn’t mean nobody did anything wrong.”
FOX6 investigation
A FOX6 investigation including more than 500 pages of public record emails, invoices, contracts and voicemails, along with interviews with current and former district employees, revealed Wauwatosa School District Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning Kristin Bowers spent years encouraging the district to contract with AVID.
AVID, which stands for “Advancement Via Individual Determination,” is a college and career readiness program. While Bowers advocated for the district’s adoption of AVID, the company was paying her husband, Brett Bowers, first as a part-time staff developer and eventually as a full-time employee.