MADISON, Wis. – In an effort to support students and teachers during the COVID-19 public health emergency, State Treasurer Sarah Godlewski recently announced $5.25 million in additional aid for public school libraries to address distance learning needs from the Common School Fund.
“Wisconsin kids deserve the ability to learn despite the barriers created by COVID-19,” said State Treasurer Sarah Godlewski. “As a product of public schools myself, I’m proud we are able to step up and make this special distribution to support distance learning needs.”
The Board of Commissioners of Public Lands (BCPL), the agency that manages the Common School Fund, planned to distribute a record-setting $38.2 million in school library aid in January. Given the unprecedented nature of the public health emergency, the BCPL approved an additional distribution of $5.25 million at their most recent board meeting.
Coming together in the wake of COVID-19, the partnership between the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) and BCPL represents an all-hands-on-deck approach to best serve Wisconsin’s public schools.
This special distribution of $5.25 million from the fund will not impact expected annual distributions in the future. Distributions from this fund can be utilized by school librarians to purchase eBooks, high-quality online resources to support inquiry and research, and devices to increase access to digital learning.