Wisconsin Association of School Boards
The Wisconsin Association of School Boards (WASB) is a nonprofit educational organization founded in 1921 that represents Wisconsin's elected public school boards.[1]
The WASB, based in Madison, Wisconsin, provides member services such as legislative advocacy, leadership development and legal and policy guidance. It is governed by a 15-member board of directors under the guidance of its bylaws.[1][2]
History[edit]
The WASB was founded on Feb. 16, 1921 when school board members met in the Wisconsin State Capitol to create the Wisconsin Association of High Schools and Graded School Boards.[3]
In its early years, the association often focused on legislative advocacy, including, controversially among members at the time, the consolidation of districts.[4] In 1944, it started a publication, Wisconsin School Board News, that continues publishing today. In 1954, it hired George Tipler, who would become the association's first executive secretary. He would go on to serve as executive director until 1987. In 1956, the WASB rented office space for the first time in a one-room building on Main Street in Winneconne, Wis. [5] In 1968, the association's headquarters moved to Madison. Its current executive director is John Ashley.[6]
Services[edit]
The WASB provides services intended to help board members be more effective and run their districts run more smoothly.[7]
Its services include:
- Professional development: Events and conferences to educate members
- Advocacy and government relations: Represent the interest of members at the State Capitol[8][9]
- Legal and human resources: Handbooks and other resources to help members govern their districts, along with legal help and guidance
- Policy: Model policies and other resources to help members set policy[10][11][12]
- Organizational consulting: Working with members on a wide variety of governance issues[13]
- Search: Assisting boards in their search for superintendents[14][15]
- Communication: Services to help recognize and spread best practices, such as a recognition program called the Business Honor Roll[16] and Wisconsin School News, a magazine published 10 times per year.
- Annual convention: In conjunction with the Wisconsin Association of School Business Officials and the Wisconsin Association of School District Administrators, the WASB hosts an annual convention for members, typically held January in Milwaukee.[17]
Funding[edit]
State statute allows school boards to pay membership and event fees for an association of school boards[18].
The WASB receives dues from its member school districts based on the number of staff they have employed. Wisconsin school districts are not required to be members of the association, though each of Wisconsin's school districts has elected to be a member.
About School Boards in Wisconsin[edit]
The Wisconsin Constitution mandates that the state Legislature shall establish district schools "which shall be as nearly uniform as practicable; and such schools shall be free and without charge for tuition to all children between the ages of 4 and 20 years."[19]
Wisconsin's public school boards are elected by the voters of their school districts and set policy for the education of their children. As of December 2019, there were about 2,800 school board members in Wisconsin whose decisions affect the more than 800,000 children enrolled in the state's public schools. Most board members do not have extensive experience in educational administration before they take office. [20] School board members select a district administrator (sometimes called a superintendent) who leads the day-to-day operations of the district. The specific responsibilities of board members in each district vary according to local policy decisions. Along with other states, Wisconsin has a tradition of local control exercised by district voters through their elected school boards.[21]
There are five types of school districts in Wisconsin[22].
They are:
- K-12 common school districts
- K-8 common school districts
- Union high school districts
- Unified school districts
- 1st class city school districts
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "About the WASB". Wisconsin Association of School Boards. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
- ↑ "About WASB (WASB Directors)". Wisconsin Association of School Boards. Retrieved 2 December 2019.
- ↑ School Boards in Wisconsin: The Association History. Wisconsin Association of School Boards. November 1897. p. 1. Search this book on
- ↑ Edward, Tuttle (March 1952). "The Mosaic of Education". Journal of Education. 135 (3): 79–91. doi:10.1177/002205745213500303.
- ↑ School Boards in Wisconsin: The Association History. Wisconsin Association of School Boards. November 1897. p. 27. Search this book on
- ↑ "Executive Q&A: Association helps school board members do their jobs better". Wisconsin State Journal. July 12, 2015. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
- ↑ "WASB Website". Wisconsin Association of School Boards. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
- ↑ "Wisconsin Association of School Boards". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
- ↑ "Lobbying Principals". Eye on Lobbying. Wisconsin Ethics Commission. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
- ↑ "Wisconsin School District Resources: Recreational Use of School Property". Public Health Law Cetner at Mitchell Hamline School of Law. Public Health Law Center. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
- ↑ "Online and Blended Learning Resources". Online and Blended Learning. Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
- ↑ "Service Learning: Sample Policy". Service Learning. Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
- ↑ "Unity school board trains for continual improvement". Leader Register. Leader Register. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
- ↑ "BASD unveils three finalists for superintendent post". My Racine County. myracinecounty. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
- ↑ "Jeff Weiss will be the new superintendent of the South Milwaukee School District". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Gannett. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
- ↑ "School district names three to Wisconsin Association Association of School Boards Business Roll" (Oct 18, 2019). The La Crosse Tribune. Oct 18, 2019. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
- ↑ "District officials attend state education convention". Watertown Daily Times. January 28, 2020. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
- ↑ "Wisconsin Statutes: Chapter 120". Wisconsin State Statutes. Wisconsin State Legislature. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
- ↑ "Wisconsin Constitution, Article X". Wisconsin State Legislature. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
- ↑ "Guide for Candidates" (PDF). Wisconsin Association of School Boards. Wisconsin Association of School Boards. Retrieved 4 December 2019. (Subscription required.)
- ↑ "Emergency Nursing Services in Wisconsin Schools" (PDF). Wisconsin Departmnet of Public Instruction. p. 2. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
- ↑ "Wisconsin Statutes, Chapter 115". Wisconsin State Legislature. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
removed non-neutral language; added third-party citations[edit]
This article "Wisconsin Association of School Boards" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Wisconsin Association of School Boards. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
