Wisconsin's Common School Fund-What can be purchased?

March 2008

Wisconsin Statute 43.70(3) provides money generated by the Common School Fund 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 moneys received in a fiscal year to purchase school library computers and related software to be housed in the school library. These purchases must be made in consultation with the school district’s library media coordinator as per Wisconsin Administrative Code PI 8.01(2)(h).

The term library materials implies that the items must be:

housed in the library media center for their lifetime (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.

Library materials exclude textbooks and department or course-specific instructional materials. It also excludes equipment, supplies and furniture, including storage items, and items that function as such. The exception to equipment is computers for the library that may be purchased with up to 25 percent of the district’s CSF allocation. Related software for those computers refers to that which is pre-installed on the computer at the time of purchase.

The examples that follow are based on these principles. The numbers in parentheses are the object codes from the Wisconsin Uniform Financial Accounting Requirements (WUFAR). The function code for the library media program is 222000 and only items that would fall in categories 431-439, 550, and 560 are eligible for school library purchases with the Common School Fund. The statute also requires that appropriate records of purchases shall be kept and made available to the state superintendent as necessary. If a district does not expend the entire Common School Fund within Function 222000 Object 430, it will be required to provide additional detail in the Financial Annual Report for expenditures coded in Object Codes 550, and 560.

222 000 Library Media (Common school fund categorical aid calculates off of WUFAR Object 430 Function 222000)

430 Instructional Media

431 Audiovisual
432 Library Books
433 Newspapers
434 Periodicals
435 Computer Software Programs
438 Microfilm
439 Other Media

Eligible

Not Eligible

Audiovisual materials for the Library Media Center (LMC), e.g. audiocassettes, videocassettes, CDs, DVDs (431 Audiovisual)

Listening and viewing equipment, e.g. VCRs, DVD players, headsets, microphones, speakers, Smartboards (440, 550, or 560)

Library books (print and e-books, e.g. Playaways); up to 10 copies per title per library (432 Library books)

Textbooks, including teachers’ copies, classroom sets of trade books, workbooks (470), furniture and book storage items (444)

Pre-processing fees for vendors who provide shelf-ready LMC materials; Re-binding of library books (432 Library books)

Barcodes, labels, book jacket covers and other supplies (411); Rebinding of textbooks (354)

Professional materials housed in the LMC (432 Library books or 439 Other media)

Professional materials for a teacher center, professional library, department, or classroom housed outside of the library (479)

Newspapers and periodicals for the LMC (433 Newspapers and 434 Periodicals)

Individual copies or sets of newspapers and magazines for classrooms or teachers (479)

Digital, video-streamed or web-based resources for the LMC, e.g. NetTrekker, Discovery Education Streaming, Web Feet, or WisCareers
Instructional research software, e.g. graphic organizers, draft writers, or citation generators
Library automation software and related software components or licenses; WISCAT license (435 Computer software programs)

Administrative or Network operation software (480)
Department or course-specific software, e.g. online or virtual courses, NovaNET, Plato, Accelerated Reader, Destination Math
Application software, e.g. Microsoft Office, KidPix, Frontpage, Turnitin.com (480)
Internet filters or Internet access (358)
Computer peripherals and other hardware, e.g. wiring, amplifiers, cables, modems (360, 440, 460, 550, or 560)
Long distance telephone charges (355)

Reference materials and realia for the LMC, e.g. print and electronic reference books and subscriptions, globes, maps, kits (439 Other media)

Classroom sets of encyclopedias or other reference books (479)
Borrowing, delivery or usage fees imposed by other libraries or services (490)
CESA services or fees (386)

Computers for the LMC—up to 25% CSF allocation (550 Equipment addition or 560 Equipment replacement)

Other equipment, e.g. Smart Boards, printers, LCD projectors, scanners (550 or 560)

If you have questions regarding school library purchases that meet the requirements of the Common School Fund contact Nancy Anderson, School Library Media Consultant, Instructional Media and Technology. Telephone: (608) 267-9287.

For questions regarding school library aid and accounting contact Brad Adams, School Finance Consultant. Telephone: (608) 267-3752.

For questions about this information, contact Nancy E. Anderson (608) 267-9287

Last updated on 1/27/2009 1:20:24 PM

Wisconsin's Common School Fund - What Can Be Purchased?