Title: Milwaukee County School Committee Records
Inclusive Dates: 1940-1963

Creator:

• Milwaukee County (Wis.). School Committee.

Call Number: Local History Manuscript Collection 77

Quantity: 1.2 cubic ft. (3 boxes)

Repository:

Milwaukee Public Library, Frank P. Zeidler Room

Archival Location:

Milwaukee Public Library (Map)

Abstract:

Records of the Milwaukee County School Committee, which was created in 1947 to create a plan for the reorganization of the county’s school districts and study the possibility of tuition increases. Contains annual reports, meeting minutes, and data tables.

Note:

To request materials from this collection, create/login to your Special Collections Account.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.mwpl-lhmc0077

The Milwaukee County School Committee was created by the state legislature in 1947 to create a plan for the reorganization of the county’s school districts and study the possibility of tuition increases. The Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors appointed the six-member committee. While the Milwaukee County School Committee published recommendations for redistricting in the county in 1950, the plan was never enacted. The successor to the Milwaukee County School Committee was the Agency School Committee, created in 1965.

The need for school district reorganization in Milwaukee County grew out of population changes during the first half of the 20th century. As middle-class and wealthy Milwaukeeans moved increasingly to the suburbs and exurbs, the City of Milwaukee’s school district lost much of its taxpayer base, putting the district in financial trouble. Many small school districts existed – 67 as of 1950 – which led to large inequalities in facilities, teachers, and quality of education across Milwaukee County. The Milwaukee County School Committee was the state’s attempt to reorganize the school districts in order to rectify this issue.

Membership in the Milwaukee County School Committee was regulated by three guiding principles: 1) Every member of the committee must have “a recognized interest in, understanding of, and sympathy for the problems of the common schools”; 2) The committee should include “people experienced as teachers, principals, school board members, city and town officials, and as school system executives”; and 3) three members of the committee must be from cities or villages and three from townships, “but each member is duty-bound to tackle the school problem from a county-wide viewpoint.” (Source: Your Schools: A Plan by the Milwaukee County School Committee for Reorganizing School Districts)

This collection consists of annual reports, meeting minutes, and data tables relating to the Milwaukee County School Committee. The annual reports include those from the Common and High School districts in Milwaukee County and the County Superintendent of Common Schools. All annual reports are photostats. The meeting minutes span the 466th to 586th meetings (with a few exceptions) of the Milwaukee County School Committee and various related subcommittees. This collection also includes a small set of data tables for the 1950-1951 school year and tables on school population and teacher salaries.

The collection is arranged alphabetically and then chronologically within each folder.

Milwaukee County School Committee Records, 1940-1963, Collection 77. Local History Manuscript Collections, Milwaukee Public Library, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Archival Collections

• Board of School Directors Records. City of Milwaukee Archival Collection 69.

Publications and Other Items

A Plan for the Reorganization of School Districts in Milwaukee County

Proposed School District Reorganization

Your Schools : A Plan by the Milwaukee County School Committee for Reorganizing School Districts

Access Restrictions

There are no access restrictions on the materials. The collection is open to all in accordance with state law. The public may view Local History Manuscript Collections by appointment at the Central Library. To request an in-person appointment, create/login to your Special Collections Account. If you have any questions, please contact the Archives and Special Collections Department at mplarchives@milwaukee.gov.

Use Restrictions

The researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming with the laws of libel, privacy, and copyright which may be involved in the use of this collection (Wisconsin Statutes 19.21-19.39).

Acquisition Information

No acquisition information is available. The materials were accessioned as Local History Manuscripts.

Processing Information

Inventoried by Kadie Seitz, Fieldworker, 2014. Processed by Bob Jaeger, 2018.

Box   1 Folder   1-5	Common and High School districts in Milwaukee County, annual reports, 1940-1949
Box   2 Folder   1-3	Common and High School districts in Milwaukee County, annual reports, 1950-1956
Box   2 Folder   4-5	County Superintendent of Common Schools, annual reports, 1940-1949
Box   2 Folder   6	Data Tables, 1950-1951
Box   2 Folder   7	Meeting Minutes, January-June 1959
Box   3 Folder   1-3	Meeting Minutes, July 1959-March 1963
Box   3 Folder   4	School Census Tabulation Sheet #3, 1950-1951