SB 462

Election of members of the board of school directors

Currently, the board of school directors in first class cities (of which Milwaukee

is the only one) consists of eight members elected from election districts that must

be approximately equal in population, and one member elected from the city at large.

Members are elected on a nonpartisan ballot at the spring election. Board members

serve for four-year terms. The terms of office of five members of the board expire on

the fourth Monday in April 2011, and the terms of office of four members of the board

expire on the fourth Monday in April 2013.

This bill provides instead for the board of school directors to be elected on a

nonpartisan ballot at the general (November) election. Under the bill, all members

are elected from election districts that must be substantially equal in population.

To effect the change, the bill provides for the terms of the four members whose

terms expire in April 2013, to expire in November 2012, and the terms of the five

members who are elected to replace the five members whose terms expire in April

2011, to expire in November 2014. The bill provides for four new members to be

elected for four-year terms at the general election in November 2012, and five new

members to be elected for four-year terms at the general election in November 2014.

The bill provides for initial election districts to be drawn by the board of school

directors in accordance with the 2010 federal decennial census.

Currently, a vacancy in the membership of the board of school directors in a first

class city is filled by special election for the unexpired term. Under this bill, a

vacancy may be filled by temporary appointment of the mayor until a special election

can be held to fill the vacancy on a permanent basis. The bill provides, however, that

the mayor must submit any temporary appointment to the board of school directors,

which may reject the appointment with a vote of at least two-thirds of the current

membership.

Currently, the board of school directors elects officers at its annual

organizational meeting, which is held between the fourth Monday in April and the

first Monday in May. This bill provides for the organizational meeting to be held

between the first Monday in December and the third Monday in December, and

provides for the officers elected at an organizational meeting to be held in the spring

of 2012 to serve until an organizational meeting is held in December of 2012.

Governance

Currently, a first class city school district is governed by a board of school

directors. The board appoints the superintendent of schools, who is the

administrative head of the school district.

This bill establishes a superintendent search advisory committee. The

committee must select one applicant to recommend to the mayor and the board must

select three applicants to recommend to the mayor. The mayor must select a

candidate from the three recommended by the board to recommend to the board. The