Wisconsin's Common School Fund

Supporting School Libraries Through Common School Fund Library Aid

September 2007

Program Description

The Common School Fund Library Aid (CSF) is an annual entitlement program to all Wisconsin public school districts that distributes the net earnings from the Common School Fund, one of the state trust funds set up by the Wisconsin Constitution. As directed by the constitution, the beneficiaries of the CSF are the public school libraries of the state. Each year in April, the Board of Commissioners of Public Lands (BCPL) informs the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) of the total interest that has accumulated in the Common School Income Fund. DPI calculates each school district's allocation, basing the amount on the number of children ages 4 through 20 living in the district. The allocation is sent to school districts by May 1. Districts must spend the total Library Aid allocation for appropriate library materials by June 30 of that same year. Further information about the Board of Commissioners of Public Lands can be found at http://bcpl.state.wi.us.
Source of Funds
The principal of the CSF grows by about $25 million each year through revenues from

Civil and criminal fees

Fines and forfeitures

Wisconsin's Unclaimed Property Program

Timber sales on Trust Lands

This principal is invested in loans to local governments and school districts and in state and local bonds. The remaining funds are deposited in the State Investment Fund. The annual earnings of the CSF are distributed on a per pupil basis each spring with more than $375 million distributed over the last 25 years.
Purchase Requirements
Wisconsin Statute 43.70(3) provides that money generated by the CSF be used for the purchase of library books and other instructional materials for school libraries and for the purchase of instructional materials from the state historical society for use in teaching Wisconsin history. In addition, a school district may use up to 25 percent of the [CSF] moneys received in a fiscal year…to purchase school library computers and related software if the school board consults with the person who supervises the school district’s libraries and the computers and software are housed in the school library. The person who supervises the school libraries is the district’s designated certified library media coordinator as per Wisconsin Administrative Code PI 8.01(2)(h).
Library materials implies:

Items housed in school libraries (except when borrowed)

Listed in the library media center catalog

Accessible to all students and teachers in the building and district

Circulated in the normal manner

Eligible Purchases
The following items are examples of those considered eligible for purchase with CSF money:

Library books, reference and professional resources, newspapers, periodicals (print and digital)

Audiovisual resources, e.g. videos, cassettes, CDs, DVDs

Digital, video-streamed or web-based resources for the library

Pre-processing fees for shelf-ready resources; library book rebinding

Library automation software and related components or licenses; WISCAT license

Wisconsin history resources purchased from the state historical society

Computers and related software for the school library’s instructional program (no more than 25% of a district’s CSF allocation may be used for this purpose)

Non-eligible Purchases
The following items are examples of those considered not eligible for purchase with CSF money:

Textbooks and/or workbooks
Classroom or teacher sets of trade books, encyclopedias, newspapers, or periodicals
Audiovisual or computer-related equipment or peripherals
Furniture, shelving, supplies, or storage items
Administrative, network or Internet software
Course-specific or application software
Resource borrowing, delivery, service or usage fees

Note that many instructional resources today are in electronic format and may be housed in a distant database and simply accessed from library media centers. The statutory language must be interpreted to apply to this media format and, at the same time, remain true to its principles. For a detailed explanation of Common School Fund rules and guidance, check http://dpi.wi.gov/sfs/comsch.html.

Who is Eligible to Apply?

No application is necessary. The Common School Fund is automatically distributed to all Wisconsin public PK-12 school districts, as described above.

Amount of Funds Available

Amount is determined by the BCPL, as described above.

Application Due Date

In January of each year the BCPL informs DPI of the estimated amounts to be allocated to school districts; DPI then informs each public PK-12 school district.

Contact Information

Questions regarding school library purchases that meet the requirements of the Common School Fund can be directed to Kate Bugher, School Library Media Consultant. 608-267-9287.
Questions regarding school library aid can be directed to Brad Adams, School Finance Consultant. 608-267-3752.

Links

For questions about this information, contact Kathryn M. Bugher (608) 267-9287

Last updated on 2/25/2008 7:51:48 AM