Wisconsin

Congress passed the Act of August 6, 1846 to enable the creation of the State of Wisconsin. In the act, the federal government promised to grant the center section numbered 16, a one-square mile parcel, in each 36 square mile township for the support of public schools. In the original grant, schools received almost one and a half million acres to be held in a trust. In the state constitution, the people accepted the grant and the role of trustee. Early after statehood much of the land was sold as the state was settled and now, a century and a half later, just 4,319 surface and 269,000 mineral acres remain, primarily in the northern third of the state. The Board of Commissioners of Public Lands oversee the management of the lands which are mostly forested, so income is primarily from timber production. No mineral revenue was reported in FY 2006. Very little land is sold in Wisconsin, and the Board has established a program to increase the land base.

Also established as part of the trust was a permanent fund where the proceeds of land sales have been deposited. Today, the fund balance is over $596.4 million. The funds are invested for the most part in loans to school districts and municipalities for construction bonds. The revenues from the investments are distributed to support public school libraries as stipulated in the Constitution. The distribution in 2005 was nearly $45 million.

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