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​​December 2024 - Secretary of State Sarah Godlewski and state Treasurer John Lieber present a large check to educators to represent the $70 million disbursement from the Common School Fund to public school libraries across state.​ ​​​Photo via Wisconsin E​xaminer

Common Scho​ol Fund Distribution History


The Common School Fund was established by Wisconsin's founders in Article 10 of the State Constitution as a permanent school trust fund. By investing in community projects throughout the state through the State Trust Fund Loan Program, the Board of Commissioners of Public Lands generates earnings for the Common School Fund that are distributed annually to public school libraries. These monies are the sole source of state funding for public school libraries. For many school districts this is the only money available to them for library materials including books, newspapers and periodicals, web-based resources, and computer hardware and software.

2025 Librar​y Aid - $70.0 Mil​lion
2020 Libr​ary Aid - $38.2 Million (plus an additional $5.3 Million for Covid-19​)​

Click here to open the Interactive Library Aid ​Distribution Map. 

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