WILL Sues Over Plan to Fund Prosecutors in Milwaukee County
State plan diverts funding from school libraries.
Photo by Jessica Ruscello on Unsplash
A provision in the 2025-27 Wisconsin budget allowing Milwaukee County to divert $4.4 million from school libraries to fund district attorney positions is being challenged in court.
The Common School Fund was established in the Wisconsin Constitution in 1848. The fund is maintained by money generated by counties through traffic fines and forfeitures.
But a provision in the biennial budget exempted Milwaukee County, instead allowing the county to use that money — $2.2 million per year — to help pay for 12 prosecutors.
The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, or WILL, filed a lawsuit this week in Waukesha County Court, calling the move a “flagrant and unconstitutional money grab by Milwaukee County.”
The suit says if the provision stands, the next budget could include more carveouts from the Common School Fund.
Milwaukee County Treasurer David Cullen, who is named in the suit, and other county officials did not respond to requests for comment.
WILL is representing Waukesha County resident Christine Stueland, a former Menomonee Falls School District board member who is referred to as a “library user and taxpayer.”
The suit argues Stueland is directly harmed because her library will have fewer resources. And it contends the state Legislature overstepped its constitutional authority by granting a unique carveout to a single county.
“It’s frustrating to watch politicians in Madison give Milwaukee special treatment while others are shortchanged,” Stueland said in a statement. “If we don’t fight back for fairness and equal treatment for all, it will only get worse.”
In 2025, the Common School Fund distributed $70 million to school libraries across the state. The biennial budget increased school library aid by $36 million over the biennium.
The Common School Fund management board also considered litigation
The Common School Fund is managed by the Board of Commissioners of Public Lands, or BCPL.
The group has been uneasy about the budget provision since it was passed and has also considered taking action, said Tom German, executive secretary.
German and the BCPL board believe the provision violates a 1973 Wisconsin Supreme Court decision regarding the fund and the Legislature’s authority.
The Legislature’s budget committee added the provision during the last executive session of this budget cycle under a “miscellaneous items” section of the motion as part of a budget deal with Gov. Tony Evers.
On Sept. 2, the BCPL board passed a resolution “expressing its serious concerns” with the budget change.
“BCPL recognizes Milwaukee County’s need for funding the District Attorney’s office, but not at the expense of a constitutionally created and protected trust fund that benefits public education,” the resolution states. “BCPL and the other parties seek a legislative solution that addresses the above concerns prior to commencement of litigation.”
Board member and Attorney General Josh Kaul abstained from voting.
Kaul’s office did not respond to requests for comment Thursday.
Evers’ spokesperson Britt Cudaback said providing additional assistant district attorney positions for Milwaukee County was part of the negotiations with Republican leaders during the budget process, but the mechanism for funding them were not.
“The decision to specifically use the Common School Fund was made by Republican lawmakers alone,” Cudaback said.
Joint Finance Committee chairs Rep. Mark Born, R-Beaver Dam, and Sen. Howard Marklein, R-Spring Green, could not immediately be reached for comment.
The Board of Commissioners of Public Lands manages four funds: the Common School Fund, Normal School Fund, University Fund and Agricultural College Fund.
German said the funds become less consequential if their financial support does not continue to grow.
“The Common School fund has grown over the years to $1.5 billion,” German said. “But the University Fund and the ag college fund did not have a mechanism for growing, and so those funds are roughly the same size as they were 150 years ago. At one time, the University Fund could pay for about half the cost of running the entire system. Now it couldn’t pay for the cost of a (teacher’s assistant).”
Milwaukee County is not paying into the Common School Fund. Is that constitutional? was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.
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