Wisconsin K-12 Email Security Intelligence:
DNS Authentication Profiling of 473 School District LEAs

Lokentra Research Team

Lokentra U.S. Email Security Index (ESI) — State Intelligence Series

April 22, 2026

research@monitorworkspace.com • monitorworkspace.com/scorecard

Abstract

We present DNS email security profiling for 473 K-12 LEAs in Wisconsin, of which 464 have active domains (98.1% coverage). Domains were scored on the Lokentra 100-point Email Security Index (ESI) rubric (SPF 30 pts + DKIM 30 pts + DMARC 40 pts). Wisconsin K-12 districts achieve an average ESI score of 59.6/100, with 37.5% earning Grade A or B (strong posture) and 22.0% receiving Grade F (minimal authentication). Only 67.0% have any DMARC record, and just 38.8% have DMARC at an enforcement level (quarantine or reject) — leaving 33.0% of districts fully vulnerable to email domain spoofing. This report provides entity-level data for all 464 scored domains including provider classification, authentication status, and ESI score, sourced from NCES CCD 2024-2025 and live DNS resolution conducted April 22, 2026.

Keywords: Wisconsin, K-12 email security, DMARC, SPF, school district cybersecurity, DNS authentication, Google Workspace, education technology

1. Dataset Overview

Table 1. Wisconsin K-12 Dataset Summary
Metric	Value
Total K-12 LEAs in state	473
Regular school districts	423
Charter LEAs	30
Other LEA types (state-operated, regional, etc.)	20
LEAs with active internet domain	464 (98.1%)
Domains DNS-profiled	464
Data freshness (NCES CCD)	2024-2025 school year
DNS scan date	April 22, 2026

2. The Human Impact: Populations at Risk

To estimate human exposure, NCES national averages are applied to CCD 2024-2025 operational school counts: 381 students per school, 51 staff per school, and 2 parents or guardians per student. Wisconsin K-12 districts collectively operate approximately 2,187 schools.

Table 2. Estimated Population Exposure from K-12 Email Security Gaps — Wisconsin
Population	Total in Dataset	At Risk (No DMARC, 33.0%)	Critically Exposed (Grade F, 22.0%)
Students	833,247	274,971	183,314
Parents and guardians	1,666,494	549,943	366,628
Staff and educators	111,537	36,807	24,538
Total people	2,611,278	861,721	574,481

Estimates based on NCES national averages. Individual district enrollment data can be linked via NCES LEAID for precise counts.

3. Authentication Findings

3.1 Protocol Adoption

Table 3. Email Authentication Protocol Adoption — Wisconsin K-12
Protocol	Wisconsin	National K-12 (ESI)	vs. National
SPF (any configuration)	85.3%	79.7%	+5.6pp
DKIM (key published)	68.5%	59.6%	+8.9pp
DMARC (any policy)	67.0%	55.5%	+11.5pp
DMARC at enforcement (quarantine/reject)	38.8%	~21.0%	+17.8pp
DMARC at reject (full enforcement)	18.1%	~12.2%	+5.9pp
No MX records (not receiving email)	5.0%	~10.0%	-5.0pp

3.2 ESI Grade Distribution

Table 4. ESI Score Grade Distribution — Wisconsin K-12
Grade	Score	Districts	Share	Interpretation
A	90–100	81	17.5%	Full enforcement
B	70–89	93	20.0%	Strong posture
C	50–69	155	33.4%	Partial protection
D	30–49	33	7.1%	Weak configuration
F	0–29	102	22.0%	Minimal/no authentication
Average score		59.6 / 100

3.3 Email Provider Distribution

Table 5. Email Provider Distribution — Wisconsin K-12 (top providers)
Provider	Districts	Share
Google Workspace	385	83.0%
Microsoft 365	22	4.7%
Barracuda	5	1.1%
Mimecast	4	0.9%
Fortinet	2	0.4%
Securence	1	0.2%

4. District-Level Data

4.1 Top Performing Districts (Best ESI Scores)

Table 6. Top 15 Wisconsin K-12 Districts by ESI Score
District	Domain	County	Provider	SPF	DKIM	DMARC Policy	Score	Grade
Marathon Co CDEB	`mcse.k12.wi.us`	Marathon County	Google Workspace	✓	✓	reject	100	A
Cooperative Ed Serv Agcy 05	`cesa5.org`	Columbia County	Google Workspace	✓	✓	reject	100	A
Chetek-Weyerhaeuser Area School District	`cwasd.k12.wi.us`	Barron County	Google Workspace	✓	✓	reject	100	A
Holy Hill Area School District	`hhasd.org`	Washington County	Google Workspace	✓	✓	reject	100	A
Lake Country Classical Academy Inc.	`lakecountryclassical.org`	Waukesha County	Microsoft 365	✓	✓	reject	100	A
Cambria-Friesland School District	`cfsdwi.org`	Columbia County	Google Workspace	✓	✓	reject	100	A
Crandon School District	`sdofcrandon.com`	Forest County	Google Workspace	✓	✓	reject	100	A
Durand-Arkansaw School District	`durand.k12.wi.us`	Pepin County	Google Workspace	✓	✓	reject	100	A
Elkhart Lake-Glenbeulah School District	`goresorters.com`	Sheboygan County	Google Workspace	✓	✓	reject	100	A
Lac du Flambeau #1 School District	`ldfschool.org`	Vilas County	Google Workspace	✓	✓	reject	100	A
Highland School District	`highland.k12.wi.us`	Iowa County	Google Workspace	✓	✓	reject	100	A
Janesville School District	`janesville.k12.wi.us`	Rock County	Google Workspace	✓	✓	reject	100	A
Manitowoc School District	`manitowocpublicschools.org`	Manitowoc County	Google Workspace	✓	✓	reject	100	A
McFarland School District	`mcfarland.k12.wi.us`	Dane County	Google Workspace	✓	✓	reject	100	A
Port Edwards School District	`pesd.k12.wi.us`	Wood County	Google Workspace	✓	✓	reject	100	A

4.2 Districts Most in Need of Improvement (Lowest ESI Scores)

Table 7. Bottom 15 Wisconsin K-12 Districts by ESI Score
District	Domain	County	Provider	SPF	DKIM	DMARC Policy	Grade
Central City Cyberschool of Milwaukee Inc.	`ccc-mke.org`	Milwaukee County	Google Workspace	✗	✗	—	F
Racine Charter One Inc.	`21stprepschool.org`	Racine County	—	✗	✗	—	F
Darrell L. Hines Academy Inc.	`dlhacademy.org`	Milwaukee County	Google Workspace	✗	✗	—	F
Milestone Democratic School Inc.	`milestonedemocratic.org`	Dane County	Google Workspace	✗	✗	—	F
New Leaf Prep Academy Inc.	`newleafprepacademy.org`	Brown County	—	✗	✗	—	F
The Lincoln Academy Inc.	`thelincolnacademybeloit.com`	Rock County	—	✗	✗	—	F
Ashland School District	`ashland.k12.wi.us`	Ashland County	—	✗	✗	—	F
Chippewa Falls Area Unified School District	`cfsd.chipfalls.k12.wi.us`	Chippewa County	—	✗	✗	—	F
Clinton Community School District	`clinton.k12.wi.us`	Rock County	—	✗	✗	—	F
De Pere School District	`deperek12.org`	Brown County	—	✗	✗	—	F
Drummond Area School District	`dasdk12.net`	Bayfield County	Google Workspace	✗	✗	—	F
Genoa City J2 School District	`genoacityschools.org`	Walworth County	—	✗	✗	—	F
Howards Grove School District	`hgtigers.org`	Sheboygan County	Google Workspace	✗	✗	—	F
Johnson Creek School District	`johnsoncreek.k12.wi.us`	Jefferson County	—	✗	✗	—	F
Kaukauna Area School District	`kaukauna.k12.wi.us`	Outagamie County	Google Workspace	✗	✗	—	F

4.3 County-Level Summary (Top 10 Counties by District Count)

Table 8. Wisconsin County Distribution
County	Districts	Website Coverage
Milwaukee County	35	88.6%
Waukesha County	24	100.0%
Dane County	21	100.0%
Walworth County	17	100.0%
Racine County	13	100.0%
Kenosha County	13	100.0%
Grant County	11	100.0%
Brown County	11	100.0%
Marathon County	9	100.0%
Barron County	9	100.0%

5. Policy Implications

These findings identify specific, actionable gaps in Wisconsin's K-12 email security posture. The 33.0% DMARC gap represents districts that can be impersonated by any sender, enabling phishing campaigns targeting parents, students, and educators with no authentication failure. Key observations:

Immediate risk: 102 districts (22.0%) have Grade F scores, indicating minimal or no email authentication. These represent the highest-priority remediation targets.
Mid-tier stagnation: 155 districts (33.4%) are in the C range — typically have SPF but no DMARC or weak DMARC (p=none). Upgrading to p=quarantine would move them to B without infrastructure changes.
Provider leverage: Google Workspace (used by 83.0% of scored districts) provides automated SPF/DKIM configuration. Districts on Google Workspace with Grade F scores have misconfigured or missing DMARC — a free and simple fix.

6. Data Availability

The full Wisconsin K-12 dataset — 473 entities with NCES CCD enrichment (phone, address, grade span, school count, LEAID) and DNS authentication profiles — is available as part of the Lokentra ESI State Pack.

Table 9. Licensing Tiers
Tier	Scope	Suggested Use
State Pack: Wisconsin	All 473 K-12 LEAs, full DNS profile + CCD enrichment	Regional studies, state policy, outreach
K-12 National	All 50 states, 20,021+ K-12 LEAs	National K-12 cybersecurity research
Full Registry	801,359+ entities across all sectors	Comprehensive multi-sector research
API + Updates	Quarterly re-scan, REST API	Longitudinal studies, live dashboards

Contact: research@monitorworkspace.com — Free demo at monitorworkspace.com/scorecard

Citation: Lokentra Research Team (2026). Wisconsin K-12 Email Security Intelligence: DNS Authentication Profiling of 473 School District LEAs. Lokentra U.S. Email Security Index (ESI) — State Intelligence Series. https://lokentra-site.web.app/research/states/wi-k12-paper.html

Data sources: NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-2025; DNS records resolved via Google Public DNS (8.8.8.8) and Cloudflare (1.1.1.1). All entity data derived from publicly accessible government registries.

National baseline figures from Lokentra U.S. Education Sector Email Security Intelligence Dataset (March 2026). See education-dataset-paper.html for full methodology.

Wisconsin K-12 Email Security Intelligence:DNS Authentication Profiling of 473 School District LEAs