Chapter 119

119.61(2)(b) (b) The board shall submit a copy of the inventory required under par. (a) to the commissioner, the superintendent of schools, the city clerk, the department, and the joint committee on finance.

119.61(2)(c) (c) In addition to the inventory required under par. (a), the board shall annually notify the commissioner, the superintendent of schools, the city clerk, the department, and the joint committee on finance any time a change is made to the use of a school building.

119.61(3) (3) 

119.61(3)(a) (a) If, within 60 days after receipt of the inventory required under sub. (2) (a) or of a notice under sub. (2) (c), either the commissioner or the superintendent of schools submits a letter of interest regarding an eligible school building, the common council shall immediately proceed to add the commissioner or the superintendent of schools, respectively, as an agent of the board on any existing lease for the eligible school building between the common council and the board.

119.61(3)(b) (b) If, no more than 60 days after providing the commissioner and the superintendent of schools with a copy of the inventory under sub. (2) (a) or of a notice under sub. (2) (c), neither the commissioner nor the superintendent of schools has submitted a letter of interest under par. (a), the city clerk shall post a public notice on the city’s Internet site. The city clerk shall include in the public notice under this subsection the address of and the information specified under sub. (2) (a) 1. and 8. for each school building identified on the inventory under sub. (2) (a), or on the notice under sub. (2) (c), that is an eligible school building. The city clerk shall include in the public notice a request for and instructions for submitting letters of interest from persons interested in purchasing an eligible school building.

119.61(4) (4) 

119.61(4)(a) (a) The common council may designate a person to act as the agent of the city with respect to the sale of an eligible school building. Except as provided in par. (e), only education operators may purchase an eligible school building. An education operator may submit a letter of interest as provided in the public notice under sub. (3) to notify the common council or its agent of its interest in purchasing an eligible school building.

119.61(4)(b) (b) Upon receipt of a letter of interest under par. (a) or sub. (3) (a), the city clerk shall update that portion of the city’s Internet site containing information about the eligible school building to indicate that a letter of interest has been received and that other interested education operators may, within 28 days from the date of the update, submit a letter of interest to notify the common council or its agent of its interest in purchasing the eligible school building. If, at the end of the 28-day period, no other letters of interest in purchasing the eligible school building have been received, the city shall proceed under par. (c). If, within the 28-day period, one or more other letters of interest in purchasing the eligible school building have been received, the city shall proceed under par. (d).

119.61(4)(c) (c) Except as provided in par. (d), no later than 60 days after the first business day after the end of the 28-day period under par. (b), the common council or its agent shall do all of the following:

119.61(4)(c)1. 1. Determine whether the prospective buyer is an education operator under sub. (1) (a).

119.61(4)(c)2. 2. Make information about the eligible school building available and show the eligible school building to the education operator.

119.61(4)(c)3. 3. Consider the financial capability of the education operator.

119.61(4)(c)4. 4. Negotiate a reasonable purchase price and terms with the education operator. The common council may not require the education operator to make a payment in lieu of property taxation or to pay a similar fee as a condition of the sale of the eligible school building. The purchase price shall be based upon either of the following:

119.61(4)(c)4.a. a. The purchase price paid for other comparable school buildings sold within the previous 5 years, with adjustments to the purchase price made by taking into consideration the useable square footage, age, condition, and location of the eligible school building and any other pertinent information about the eligible school building and the school building or buildings used for purposes of comparison.

119.61(4)(c)4.b. b. An appraisal prepared for the eligible school building that includes the purchase price paid for comparable buildings, if available.

119.61(4)(c)5. 5. Complete the sale of the eligible school building in accordance with standard city practices. The common council or its agent may condition closing on any of the following:

119.61(4)(c)5.a. a. Proof of financing for the purchase and any improvements proposed for the eligible school building.

119.61(4)(c)5.b. b. Inclusion of a reversionary clause permitting the common council to recapture a building that remains unoccupied 24 months after the date of closing due to a failure of the purchaser to complete improvements proposed for the eligible school building.

119.61(4)(d) (d) If, within 28 days after an education operator submits a letter of interest under par. (a), at least one other education operator submits a letter of interest under par. (a) or (b), the common council shall, within 50 days after the other education operator submits a letter of interest, initiate a competitive, request-for-proposal process and shall identify members of a committee to select the most suitable buyer of the eligible school building. Once the most suitable buyer is selected, the common council shall proceed with the selected prospective buyer as required under par. (c) 1. to 5. In evaluating proposals submitted under this paragraph, the committee selected by the common council may not consider the organizational status of the education operator nor the type of school proposed to be located in the eligible school building, but shall consider all of the following:

119.61(4)(d)1. 1. The nature of any improvements proposed for, and the amount of any investment in, the school building.

119.61(4)(d)2. 2. The quality of the design proposed for the school building.

119.61(4)(d)3. 3. The fiscal capability of the education operator.

119.61(4)(e) (e) Any person may submit a letter of interest to purchase a school building that has qualified as an eligible school building for more than 24 consecutive months. Upon receipt of a letter of interest under this paragraph, the common council shall proceed with the prospective buyer as required under par. (c) 2., 3., 4., and 5.

119.61(5) (5) If any eligible school building is sold as provided in this section, the net proceeds of the sale shall be deposited into the school operations fund under s. 119.46.

119.61 History History: 2015 a. 55; 2017 a. 366.

119.66 119.66 Interest in contracts forbidden. During the term for which elected or appointed and for 2 years after the expiration of the term, no member of the board may be employed by the board or by the department of employee trust funds in any capacity for which a salary or emolument is provided by the board or the department of employee trust funds. No board member, superintendent of schools, assistant superintendent, other assistant, teacher or other employee of the board may have any interest in the purchase or sale of property by the city for the use or convenience of the schools. No contract made in violation of this section is valid. Any consideration paid by the city for a purchase or sale prohibited by this section may be recovered in an action at law in the name of the city. Any person violating this section shall be removed from any position held under this subchapter.

119.66 History History: 1981 c. 96; 1991 a. 39; 2015 a. 55.

119.68 119.68 Claims against the city or board.

119.68(1) (1) All claims against the city or board shall be audited for sufficiency of funds by the auditing officer of the city. The superintendent of schools shall furnish the auditing officer of the city a complete list of the claims. Before a warrant is issued therefor, the auditing officer of the city shall countersign it. Within 20 days after each regular or special meeting of the board, the superintendent of schools shall make and file with the auditing officer of the city statements of the condition of the funds for the support of the schools and of the financial transactions of the board during the period next preceding any such statement.

119.68(2) (2) No action may be brought or maintained against the school upon a claim or cause of action unless the claimant complies with s. 893.80. This subsection does not apply to actions commenced under s. 19.37, 19.97 or 281.99.

119.68 History History: 1971 c. 40, 291; 1977 c. 285; 1979 c. 323 s. 33; 1991 a. 39; 1993 a. 59; 1995 a. 158; 1997 a. 27.

119.68 Annotation The Milwaukee Public Schools are not a suable entity. That a complaint should have named the Milwaukee Board of School Directors or City of Milwaukee as defendant did not require dismissal. Amendment to name and serve the appropriate defendant was allowed. Kleckley v. Milwaukee Public Schools, 20 F Supp. 2d 1264 (1998).

119.70 119.70 Use of school buildings and grounds for civic purposes.

119.70(1) (1) The board may establish and maintain for children and adults, in the school buildings and on the school grounds, evening schools, vacation schools, reading rooms, library stations, debating clubs, gymnasiums, public playgrounds, public baths and similar activities and accommodations to be determined by the board. The board may cooperate, by agreement, with other commissions or boards having the custody and management of public parks, libraries, museums and public buildings and grounds of whatever sort to provide the equipment, supervision, instruction and oversight necessary to carry on such public educational and recreational activities in and upon such other buildings and grounds.

119.70(3) (3) The board shall report to the common council on or before the first Monday in August of each year the amount of money required during the ensuing school year for the support of activities under sub. (1). The common council shall levy and collect a special tax in the manner that other taxes are levied and collected, equal to the amount of money so required for the activities. The tax shall not be used or appropriated, directly or indirectly, for any other purpose.

119.70(4) (4) All moneys received by or raised in the school district for the activities under sub. (1) shall be paid to the city treasurer, to be disbursed in the manner that other school district funds are disbursed.

119.70(5) (5) Nothing in this section prohibits the board from granting the use of school property to religious organizations under s. 120.13 (17).

119.70 History History: 1971 c. 152 s. 31; 1973 c. 290; 1975 c. 353; 1983 a. 339 s. 10; 1985 a. 225 ss. 74, 75, 78; Stats. 1985 s. 119.70; 1989 a. 192, 290.

119.71 119.71 Five-year-old kindergarten programs.

119.71(1) (1) In this section, “full-day” has the meaning given in s. 121.004 (7) (c) 2.

119.71(3) (3) 

119.71(3)(a) (a) Annually, the board shall spend at least $5,090,000 to expand its half-day 5-year-old kindergarten program to a full-day program, as provided under par. (b), and shall enroll in the expanded program only pupils who meet the income eligibility standards for a free lunch under 42 USC 1758 (b) (1). The board shall select pupils for the expanded program based on the order in which the pupils register for the program.

119.71(3)(b) (b) The board shall use the funds specified under par. (a) to pay the costs of teachers, aides and other support staff, transportation of staff to pupils’ homes, in-service programs, parental involvement programs and instructional materials. The board may not use the funds to provide facilities to house the program or to pay pupil transportation or indirect administrative costs associated with the program.

119.71 History History: 1987 a. 399; 1989 a. 31; 1991 a. 39; 1993 a. 16; 1995 a. 27 s. 9145 (1); 1997 a. 27; 1999 a. 9; 2015 a. 55.

119.73 119.73 Kindergarten programs. The board shall evaluate the effectiveness of the expanded 5-year-old kindergarten programs under s. 119.71 in meeting the needs of disadvantaged children. Annually by January 1, the board shall submit a report summarizing its findings to the state superintendent and to the chief clerk of each house of the legislature for distribution to the appropriate standing committees under s. 13.172 (3).

119.73 History History: 1987 a. 399; 1989 a. 56 s. 259; 1995 a. 27 s. 9145 (1); 1997 a. 27, 113; 2003 a. 33.

119.74 119.74 Extended-day elementary grade, 4-year-old kindergarten and alcohol and other drug abuse programs. The board shall spend at least $430,000 for the following programs in each school year:

119.74(1) (1) Extended-day preschool to grade 6 programs.

119.74(2) (2) Four-year-old kindergarten programs.

119.74(3) (3) Alcohol and other drug abuse programs at 68th Street school.

119.74 History History: 1987 a. 399; 1989 a. 31; 1991 a. 39; 1993 a. 16; 1995 a. 27 s. 9145 (1); 1997 a. 27; 1999 a. 9.

119.75 119.75 First grade programs.

119.75(1) (1) The board shall provide expanded educational opportunities for first grade pupils who have participated in an expanded 5-year-old kindergarten program under s. 119.71.

119.75(2) (2) Annually, the board shall spend at least $1,070,000 to pay the costs of teachers, aides and other support staff, transportation of staff to pupils’ homes, in-service programs, parental involvement programs and instructional materials related to the programs under sub. (1). The board may not use the funds to provide facilities to house the programs under sub. (1) or to pay pupil transportation or indirect administrative costs associated with the programs under sub. (1).

119.75 History History: 1989 a. 31; 1991 a. 39; 1993 a. 16; 1995 a. 27 s. 9145 (1); 1997 a. 27; 1999 a. 9.

119.78 119.78 Family resource center. The board shall establish a family resource center to distribute parent education materials, conduct workshops on child development, facilitate communication between school personnel and parents of pupils enrolled in the school district and provide volunteer opportunities for parents within the schools.

119.78 History History: 1989 a. 31; 1991 a. 39; 1993 a. 16; 1995 a. 27 s. 9145 (1); 1997 a. 27; 1999 a. 9.

119.82 119.82 Alternative educational programs for learnfare pupils.

119.82(1m) (1m) Upon the request of the child or the child’s parent or guardian, the board shall provide an alternative educational program for any child who resides in the city and satisfies all of the following:

119.82(1m)(a) (a) Is at least 13 years of age but not more than 18 years of age.

119.82(1m)(b) (b) Is receiving aid to families with dependent children under s. 49.19 or is a member of a Wisconsin works group, as defined in s. 49.141 (1) (s), with a member who is participating in Wisconsin works under s. 49.147 (3) to (5).

119.82(1m)(c) (c) Has been or is being sanctioned under s. 49.26 (1) (h).

119.82(2m) (2m) Programs under sub. (1m) shall be designed to meet the high school graduation requirements under s. 118.33.

119.82 History History: 1991 a. 39; 1993 a. 16; 1995 a. 27 ss. 4021, 9145 (1); 1995 a. 289; 1997 a. 27; 1999 a. 9; 2001 a. 104; 2003 a. 33; 2009 a. 28.

subch. II of ch. 119 SUBCHAPTER II

FIRST CLASS CITY OPPORTUNITY
SCHOOLS AND PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM

119.9000 119.9000 Definitions. In this subchapter:

119.9000(1) (1) “Commissioner” means the individual in charge of the opportunity schools and partnership program under this subchapter.

119.9000(2) (2) “Council” means the opportunity schools and partnership program advisory council.

119.9000(3) (3) “County” means a county having a population of 750,000 or more.

119.9000(4) (4) “County executive” means the chief elected official of a county.

119.9000(5) (5) “Eligible school” means a public school in the school district operating under this chapter identified on the annual report submitted by the state superintendent under s. 115.28 (10m) (a).

119.9000 History History: 2015 a. 55.

119.9001 119.9001 Commissioner of opportunity schools and partnership program; general provisions.

119.9001(1) (1) The governor, the mayor of the city, and the county executive shall each appoint a person who is not an elected official to compile a list of candidates for the position of commissioner.

119.9001(2) (2) 

119.9001(2)(a) (a) No later than 120 days after July 14, 2015, the county executive shall select, from the list of qualified candidates provided under sub. (1), an individual to serve as the commissioner of the opportunity schools and partnership program.

119.9001(2)(b) (b) In the event of a vacancy in the commissioner position, the county executive shall notify the governor and the mayor of the city who shall follow the procedure under sub. (1). No later than 120 days after providing notice under this paragraph, the county executive shall select an individual to fill the vacant position.

119.9001(2)(c) (c) The commissioner shall report to the county executive and may be removed from office only by the county executive.

119.9001(3) (3) The commissioner is subject to all restrictions, liabilities, punishments, and limitations, other than recall under s. 9.10 (4), prescribed by law for members of the common council in their city.

119.9001(4) (4) The commissioner shall be paid an annual salary in the amount set by the county executive.

119.9001(5) (5) 

119.9001(5)(a) (a) The corporation counsel of the county shall be the legal adviser of and attorney for the commissioner and the opportunity schools and partnership program, except that the commissioner shall retain an attorney to represent the commissioner and the opportunity schools and partnership program in any matter if any of the following applies:

119.9001(5)(a)1. 1. The county executive, the county corporation counsel, or the commissioner determines that the commissioner or the opportunity schools and partnership program requires specialized legal expertise not possessed by the county corporation counsel.

119.9001(5)(a)2. 2. The county executive, the county corporation counsel, or the commissioner determines that the county corporation counsel does not have sufficient staff to adequately represent the interests of the commissioner or the opportunity schools and partnership program.

119.9001(5)(a)3. 3. The county executive, the county corporation counsel, or the commissioner determines that a conflict of interest exists.

119.9001(5)(b) (b) The county corporation counsel shall notify the commissioner as soon as a determination is made under par. (a) that the county corporation counsel is unable to represent the commissioner.

119.9001(5)(c) (c) The commissioner shall provide the county corporation counsel with reasonable notice of any meeting at which the commissioner will consider retention of an attorney.

119.9001 History History: 2015 a. 55; 2017 a. 150.