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119.16(2)(2)Establish schools and districts. The board shall maintain the public schools in the city, other than those public schools transferred to the opportunity schools and partnership programs under s. 119.33 and subch. II, and shall establish, organize and maintain such schools as the board determines are necessary to accommodate the children entitled to instruction therein. The board shall divide the city into attendance districts for such schools.
119.16(3)(3)Buildings and sites.
119.16(3)(a)(a) The board shall construct, purchase, lease, improve or enlarge buildings and purchase furniture and sites for the public schools, shall purchase, install and maintain heating systems in public schools and may contract for carrying out any of these purposes.
119.16(3)(b)(b) Except as provided in par. (c), schoolhouses and the sites on which they are situated shall be the property of the city. No site may be purchased or leased and no schoolhouse may be constructed unless a resolution therefor is duly adopted by the board. Except as provided in par. (c), deeds of conveyance and leases shall be made to the city.
119.16(3)(c)(c) If the redevelopment authority of the city issues bonds under s. 66.1333 (5r), the board may lease buildings or sites from the redevelopment authority or borrow money from the redevelopment authority for the purposes of par. (a).
119.16(3m)(3m)Master facilities plan.
119.16(3m)(a)(a) By July 1, 2011, the board shall evaluate all school buildings in the school district operating under this chapter according to the criteria established under par. (b), and shall develop a master plan governing the use, repair, renovation, and demolition of buildings in the school district.
119.16(3m)(b)(b) The board shall establish criteria to evaluate the safety, structural integrity, utility, and costs of maintenance and repair of school buildings in the school district. Subject to the requirements under sub. (10), the criteria shall include consideration of the advantages and disadvantages of repairing versus demolishing older buildings having high maintenance or operating costs.
119.16(4)(4)Competitive bidding. The board shall establish competitive bidding policies and procedures for purchases and for construction contracts.
119.16(5)(5)Special courses. Within budgetary limitations, the board shall establish in any public school, in grade 7 and higher, such classes of instruction consistent with the educational goals and objectives adopted by the board under sub. (1) as are petitioned for by the parents of a number of pupils attending the school sufficient to form one or more classes of instruction. Petition by the parents of 30 or more pupils of like classification attending any such school requesting the establishment of instruction in a specified subject is prima facie evidence of the sufficiency of the number of pupils to commence instruction therein.
119.16(6)(6)Custodians of school premises. The board shall fix the duties and responsibilities of principals, as custodians of the school premises, and of the school engineers. Each principal shall have general supervision of and shall be custodian of all school premises over which the principal presides.
119.16(8)(8)Budget.
119.16(8)(a)(a) Annually before adopting its budget for the ensuing school year and at least 5 days before transmitting its completed budget under par. (b), the board shall hold a public hearing on the proposed school budget at a time and place fixed by the board. At least 45 days before the public hearing, the board shall notify the superintendent of schools and the commissioner of the date, time, and place of the hearing. At least one week before the public hearing, the board shall publish a class 1 notice, under ch. 985, of the public hearing.
119.16(8)(b)(b) The board shall transmit its completed budget to the common council on or before the first Monday in August of each year on forms furnished by the auditing officer of the city, and shall include in the budget the information specified under s. 119.46 (1) for all public schools in the city under this chapter, including the schools transferred to the opportunity schools and partnership programs under s. 119.33 and subch. II. The board shall itemize those portions of the budget allocated to schools transferred to the opportunity schools and partnership programs under s. 119.33 and subch. II. Such completed budget shall be published with the budget summary under s. 65.04 (2) or 65.20 and budget under s. 65.05 (7).
119.16(9)(9)School budget. Annually, the board shall prepare a budget for each school in the school district operating under this chapter, other than the schools transferred to the opportunity schools and partnership programs under s. 119.33 and subch. II.
119.16(10)(10)School facilities.
119.16(10)(a)(a) The board may not demolish any school facility that is 50 years old or older without the approval of the city historic preservation commission.
119.16(10)(b)(b) The board may construct new school facilities only in the areas of greatest local need for such facilities.
119.16(11)(11)Comprehensive programs. The board shall collaborate with nonprofit organizations and government agencies to provide pupils with comprehensive social services and educational support, which may include a program that offers comprehensive services that address the needs of children and youth from before the time they are born through postsecondary education.
119.16(12)(12)Alternative routes to graduation. The board shall provide alternative methods of attaining a high school diploma for those pupils who are unlikely to graduate in the traditional manner, including a program allowing a pupil or former pupil to retake a course in which he or she was not initially successful.
119.16(13)(13)Research consortium. If the board determines that sufficient state or federal aid or private funding is available for this purpose, the board shall participate in an educational research consortium, similar to the Consortium on Chicago School Research and the Boston Plan for Excellence, to provide research and policy recommendations, including recommendations addressing pupil literacy and academic achievement, to the department, the board, and the legislature. In addition, the research consortium shall make its recommendations publicly available.
119.16(14)(14)Parent survey. Annually, the board shall conduct a survey of parents of pupils enrolled in the school district operating under this chapter and use the results of the survey to develop or modify parent involvement and school improvement plans, which may include school-based community resource centers, regularly scheduled public meetings, or parent education classes.
119.16(15)(15)Aggregate assessment data of pupils attending a school transferred to an opportunity schools and partnership program. Upon receipt from the superintendent of schools of pupil assessment and achievement data under s. 119.33 (2) (d) or from the commissioner of pupil assessment and achievement data under s. 119.9002 (4) for pupils enrolled in schools transferred to an opportunity schools and partnership program, the board may not make any modifications to the data but shall transmit that data to the state superintendent along with the report submitted under s. 119.44.
119.16 AnnotationOne who deals with a municipality does so at his or her own risk and may be subject to any provisions of law that might prevent him or her from being paid by a municipality even though the services were rendered. Unless the power to bind the municipality financially has been specifically delegated, the only entity with the statutory authority to contract is the municipality. The statutes do not authorize anyone other than the board to enter into contracts. The board may delegate that authority, but it must do so clearly and specifically. For an MPS employee to have such power, it must be specifically delegated by the board to that employee or class of employees. Holzbauer v. Safway Steel Products, Inc., 2005 WI App 240, 288 Wis. 2d 250, 706 N.W.2d 36, 04-2058.
119.16 AnnotationThe authority of school boards to contract for services and facilities for special needs students is discussed. 61 Atty. Gen. 203.
119.18119.18Board; powers.
119.18(1g)(1g)Generally. The board may do all things reasonable to promote the cause of education, including establishing, providing and improving school district programs, functions and activities for the benefit of pupils.
119.18(1r)(1r)Rules.
119.18(1r)(a)(a) Subject to par. (b), the board may adopt and modify or repeal rules for its own government and for the organization, discipline and management of the public schools which shall promote the good order and public usefulness of the public schools.
119.18(1r)(b)(b) The board may not establish by rule any limit on the number of pupils who may enroll in a charter school that is not an instrumentality of the school district, as determined under s. 118.40 (7).
119.18(2)(2)Distribution of printed proceedings. The board may determine the distribution of the printed proceedings of the board.
119.18(3)(3)Transportation. The board may provide for the transportation of pupils to and from any school within the city.
119.18(4)(4)Insurance. The board may provide for accident insurance covering pupils in the school district.
119.18(5)(5)Textbooks for indigent pupils. The board may purchase textbooks for pupils whose parents, guardians or other persons having control or custody of such pupils are without means to furnish them with textbooks, if the indigency of such pupils have been investigated and certified by a welfare worker or attendance officer. The local governmental authority administering poor relief in the city shall reimburse the board for all expenditures by the board for such textbooks. Such textbooks shall be the property of the city and subject to the disposal of the board.
119.18(6)(6)School calendar. The board may determine the school calendar and vacation periods for each school year for the regular day schools, summer schools, social centers, and playgrounds. The board may close any school or dismiss any class in the event of an emergency, fire or other casualty, quarantine, or epidemic.
119.18(7)(7)School hours. The board may establish rules scheduling the hours of each school day during which the schools shall be in session. The board may differentiate between the various grades in scheduling such school hours.
119.18(8)(8)Schools closed. The board may determine on which national, state and local legal holidays and for which educational conventions the public schools shall be closed. There shall be no deductions from the annual or monthly compensation of employees not rendering services on such days.
119.18(9)(9)Enrollment under legal name. The board may require that any pupil attending public school shall be enrolled under the pupil’s legal name.
119.18(10)(10)Employees.
119.18(10)(b)(b) Subject to ss. 63.18 to 63.53 when applicable, the board may employ and determine the qualifications, duties and compensation of any persons as are required in the operation and management of the schools.
119.18(10)(c)(c) The board may employ a staff to aid it in its duties. The board shall determine the compensation, duties and qualifications of its staff, including whether or not employment of such staff shall be subject to ss. 63.18 to 63.53.
119.18(11)(11)Bonded officers and employees. The board may require any officer or employee of the board to give security for the faithful performance of the officer’s or employee’s duties in such form and amount as the board determines, and may require at any time additional bonds and sureties of any officer or employee.
119.18(12)(12)Employer contribution. The board may make as the employer agency the contributions to the city retirement system payable under chapter 396, laws of 1937, in respect to its employees who are members of such system.
119.18(13)(13)Exchange teachers. The board may make an agreement with the managing body of the schools in any city or school district in the United States or another country for the exchange of one of the board’s teachers for a teacher of such other city or school district for a period not exceeding one school year. The board shall determine the qualifications and compensation of the teacher rendering service under the agreement in the schools under its jurisdiction, who shall be counted as a regular teacher in the city in the computation of state and county school aids. The agreement shall state:
119.18(13)(a)(a) The manner and by whom the salaries of such exchange teachers shall be paid.
119.18(13)(b)(b) That any teacher regularly employed by the board under this chapter shall receive credit for the year of exchange teaching service in the computation of any benefits to which the teacher is entitled under ch. 40 and the manner in which the monthly reservations shall be paid under ch. 40.
119.18(13)(c)(c) Such other provisions as the board and the other managing body deem appropriate.
119.18(14)(14)Sales and charges. The board may establish and maintain, in any of the schools or playgrounds under its jurisdiction, cafeterias and stores for the sale of schoolbooks, candies, refreshments and supplies. The board also may charge or permit the making of a charge for admission to any school, social center or athletic entertainment or activity, under such terms and conditions as the board prescribes.
119.18(15)(15)Lease school property. In addition to any other authority, the board may lease school sites, buildings and equipment not needed for school purposes to any person for any lawful use at a reasonable rental for a term not exceeding 15 years.
119.18(16)(16)Gifts and grants.
119.18(16)(a)(a) In this subsection, “community foundation” means a charitable organization, described in section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code and exempt from federal income tax under section 501 (a) of the Internal Revenue Code, dedicated to encouraging and assisting charitable activities and enterprises in a designated community in this state and having expertise in finance, fund development, and grantmaking.
119.18(16)(b)(b) The board may receive, accept, and use gifts or grants of furniture, books, equipment, supplies, moneys, securities, or other property used or useful for school and educational purposes. The board shall make such use of gifts or grants, or invest the same in the case of moneys, as the donor or grantor specifies. In the absence of any specific direction as to the use of such gifts or grants by a donor or grantor, the board may determine the use of or may invest the same in accordance with the law applicable to trust investments, or may, subject to par. (c), transfer any such gift or grant to a community foundation. In the use, control, or investment of such gifts or grants, the board may exercise the rights and powers generally conferred upon trustees.
119.18(16)(c)(c) The board may transfer a gift or grant to a community foundation only if the board and the community foundation agree, in writing and at the time of the transfer of the gift or grant, to each of the following:
119.18(16)(c)1.1. The community foundation agrees to make disbursements from and of the gift or grant to the board upon the written request of the board.
119.18(16)(c)2.2. Subject to subd. 2m., the board retains control over the manner in which any disbursement made under subd. 1. is used.
119.18(16)(c)2m.2m. The school board’s use of any disbursement made under subd. 1. shall be consistent with the intent of the donor of the gift, bequest, or endowment and with the agreement between the school board and the community foundation.
119.18(16)(c)3.3. The board exercises its rights over the use of each disbursement made under subd. 1. in accordance with the law applicable to trust investments.
119.18(17)(17)Purchases from house of correction. The board may purchase for use in the schools, from any county in which the city is located, furniture, furnishings and equipment manufactured in any house of correction under s. 303.16 (1). The board may waive the furnishing by the county or institution of bid bonds and performance bonds otherwise required by the statutes in connection with any such purchase.
119.18(18)(18)Copyright materials. The board may copyright under the applicable federal laws any book, pamphlet, bulletin or record form edited and published by or under the direction of the board.
119.18(19)(19)Fences. The board may construct around any schoolhouse or playground site a fence of materials and design approved by the board.
119.18(20)(20)Diplomas. The board may grant diplomas in testimony of the completion of high school or special education requirements, including the requirements of special schools established under s. 119.28.
119.18(21)(21)Rules on conduct and dress. The board may establish rules pertaining to conduct and dress of pupils in order to maintain good decorum and a favorable academic atmosphere.
119.18(22)(22)Records custodian. On behalf of any school district authority as defined in s. 19.32 (1), including the board, school district officers and any subunit of the board or school district, designate one or more persons to be legal custodians of records.
119.18(23)(23)School closings. The board may close any school that it determines is low in performance by adopting a resolution to that effect. If the superintendent of schools recommends to the board that a school be closed, he or she shall state the reasons for the recommendation in writing. If the board closes a school, the superintendent of schools may reassign the school’s staff members without regard to seniority in service. If the board reopens the school, the superintendent of schools may reassign staff members to the school without regard to seniority in service.
119.19119.19Released time for religious instruction.
119.19(1)(1)The board may permit a pupil, with the written permission of the pupil’s parent or guardian, to be absent from school for up to 180 minutes per week to obtain religious instruction outside the school during the required school period. The board shall determine periods allotted for the pupil to be absent from school for the purpose of religious instruction. Monthly, the supervisor of the religious instruction shall report the names of the pupils who attended such weekly religious instruction to the principal of the school that the pupil regularly attends. The board may withdraw permission to be absent from school if a pupil does not attend the religious instruction.
119.19(2)(2)The board is not responsible for transporting a pupil to or from religious instruction under sub. (1).
119.19(3)(3)The board is released from all liability for a pupil who is absent from school under sub. (1).
119.19 HistoryHistory: 1989 a. 267.
119.22119.22Sex discrimination in physical education or physical training prohibited. Except as provided in s. 120.13 (37m), courses in physical education or physical training may not discriminate on the basis of sex in the provision of necessary facilities, equipment, instruction or financial support, or the opportunity to participate in any physical education or training activity as provided in 20 USC 1681 et seq.
119.23119.23Milwaukee parental choice program.
119.23(1)(1)In this section:
119.23(1)(ab)(ab) “Accrediting entity” means all of the following:
119.23(1)(ab)1.1. Cognia, Inc., Wisconsin Religious and Independent Schools Accreditation, Independent Schools Association of the Central States, Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod School Accreditation, National Lutheran School Accreditation, Wisconsin Association of Christian Schools, Christian Schools International, Association of Christian Schools International, the diocese or archdiocese within which a private school is located, and any other organization recognized by the National Council for Private School Accreditation.
119.23(1)(ab)2.2. Subject to sub. (2) (a) 7. e., for a private school to which sub. (2) (a) 7. c. applies, the Institute for the Transformation of Learning at Marquette University.
119.23(1)(ae)(ae) “Administrator” means the superintendent, supervising principal, executive director, or other person who acts as the administrative head of a private school participating in the program under this section.
119.23(1)(af)(af) “Disqualified organization” means an accrediting organization that is not an accrediting entity or a member of or otherwise sanctioned by an accrediting entity.
119.23(1)(ag)(ag) “Disqualified person” means a person who, when a private school was barred or terminated from participation in the program under this section by an order issued under sub. (10), satisfied at least one of the following:
119.23(1)(ag)1.1. Had a controlling ownership interest in, or was the administrator or an officer, director, or trustee of, the private school.
119.23(1)(ag)2.2. Was a person designated by the administrator of the private school to assist in processing pupil applications.
119.23(1)(ag)3.3. Was responsible for an action or circumstance that led to the private school being barred or terminated from participation in the program under this section.
119.23(1)(ai)1.1. Except as provided in subd. 2., “new private school” means a school that qualifies as a private school under s. 115.001 (3r) and that satisfies either of the following:
119.23(1)(ai)1.a.a. The school has been in continuous operation in this state for less than 12 consecutive months.
119.23(1)(ai)1.b.b. The school provides education to fewer than 40 pupils divided into 2 or fewer grades.
119.23(1)(ai)2.2. “New private school” does not include a private school the governing body of which operates or manages a private school that is participating in the program under this section or under s. 118.60 if all of the following apply:
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2023-24 Wisconsin Statutes updated through all Supreme Court and Controlled Substances Board Orders filed before and in effect on January 1, 2025. Published and certified under s. 35.18. Changes effective after January 1, 2025, are designated by NOTES. (Published 1-1-25)