EDITORIAL: How the state Constitution strengthens embattled school libraries

The Common School Fund represents one of the all-time most worthy achievements of the Wisconsin state government. It gives money every year to every public school library in the state to buy books and other instructional materials at no cost to taxpayers and with immunity from interference by the Legislature.

The latter point is crucial. Amid the current political hysteria over the books students read, it’s not hard to imagine members of the majorities in the state Senate and Assembly using the power over state library aid, if they had it, to mandate the choices of books available to students.

Recently introduced bills are clear signs that some lawmakers are itching to throw the Legislature’s weight behind groups pressuring school boards to ban books they deem “inappropriate.”

Bills introduced by two Republican senators would require all Wisconsin school libraries and public libraries to inform parents within 24 hours of the books and other materials checked out by their children under 16. The bills were the subject of a hearing last week chaired by Sen. Jesse James (R-Altoona), who has distributed a list of books that parent groups such as Moms for Liberty want banned from school libraries.

Representatives of school and public libraries at the hearing pointed out reasons the law proposed in the bills would be unnecessary and harmful. State law already requires libraries to provide information about their children’s reading choices to any parent who requests it. Forcing libraries to notify every parent of every child under 16 who borrows a book would be an administrative burden most library staffs are not equipped to handle.

The bills’ attempted political interference into the operation of libraries underlines the importance of the protections against legislative mischief in place for the primary source of funding for school libraries, Wisconsin’s Common School Fund.

The fund distributes financial aid to school libraries based on the population of residents 4 to 20 years old in their school districts. Common Fund distributions to Ozaukee County school districts in 2023 ranged from $48,460 for Northern Ozaukee to $201,240 for Mequon-Thiensville. The second highest amount, $169,568, went to Port Washington-Saukville.

The fund has the protection of the Wisconsin Constitution, in which it was established in 1848 by the granting of 1.5 million acres of land for educational purposes. The sale of the land provided the principal for the fund. Earnings from its investments, which include real estate and loans to municipal governments for infrastructure, are distributed annually to libraries in K-12 schools (known as common schools when the fund was created).

As a trust dedicated to education, the Common School Fund, managed by the Board of Commissioners of Public Lands, is exempt from the state budget process and control by the Legislature.

Next year, the trust will provide more funding for K-12 libraries than ever before, a total of $65 million, 25% more than in 2023. For 90% of state school libraries, these distributions are the only source of funding for books and related library materials.

The increase in Common School Fund library aid is especially meaningful in these times. It gives school libraries the ability to acquire books at a time when the book banners are trying to take them away.