Wisconsin's School Library Media Programs
Of the 426 school districts in Wisconsin, 219 districts, or 51.4 percent, have only 1 certified library media specialist for all grade levels. Some of those are not even full-time positions. Of the 219 school districts with a certified media specialist, 162 districts have 2 or more school buildings/libraries. In other words, slightly more than 38 percent of school districts have only one librarian serving children in multiple buildings at all grade levels.
Public schools are funded by the State of Wisconsin and local property taxpayers. But for approximately 50 percent of school library media programs, the only source of revenue for library books and other instructional materials is the Common School Fund. For the 2005-06 school year, the Common School Fund provided $22.32 per student for students ages 4-20 in the district. [View XLS file] This amount represents approximately ½ of one book per child per year. Providing school libraries with the maximum amount of Common School Fund revenue is critical to the continued success of those libraries.