The Wisconsin Board of Commissioners of Public Lands, otherwise known as BCPL, is a state agency responsible for investing Wisconsin's School Trust Funds in support of public education, for managing the state's remaining School Trust Lands, and for maintaining an extensive archive of land records. The agency was established in Article X, Section 7 of the Wisconsin Constitution, ratified in 1848. BCPL was organized upon Wisconsin's statehood to oversee the sale of School Trust Lands, public lands allotted by Congress to finance primary, secondary and post-secondary public education in a then land rich but cash poor nation. Once encompassing over 1.5 million acres, a little less than of the original land grants conveyed to Wisconsin remain under BCPL's stewardship; these lands are largely forested and therefore harvested for sustainable timber, the proceeds of which are deposited to both the Common School Fund and to the Normal School Fund. The remaining School Trust Lands are free and accessible to the public, for hunting, fishing, trapping, hiking, and other outdoor recreational activities. BCPL prioritizes managing its remaining School Trust Lands efficiently and sustainably, with an eye towards guaranteeing productivity, protecting water quality, maintaining biodiversity, and enhancing public access.
Proceeds from the sale and management of the School Trust Lands constitute a significant proportion of the principal incident to the four School Trust Funds managed by BCPL: the Common School Fund, tNormal School Fund, University Fund, and Agricultural College Fund. The Common School Fund was created from the sale of the 16thsection in each of Wisconsin's townships;this amounted to almost. The U.S. Congress later added to the Common School Fund's principal by allocating an additional of school lands. In addition, the state grants to the Common School Fund all fines, fees, and forfeitures for violations of the criminal laws, alongside all unclaimed property and escheated property that accrues to the state. Income from the Common School Fund is remitted annually to the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction for distribution to public schools as public school library aid. These annual distributions are the only source of statewide aid for Wisconsin's public-school libraries. The Normal School Fund was created in 1865 from the sale of half of the land grant Congress conveyed to Wisconsin in the Swamp Land Act of 1850 after the Wisconsin Legislature determined not all of the land was needed to finance land reclamation activities. The Normal School Fund was originally intended to provide financial support to normal schools, or state teacher colleges. Since Wisconsin's state teacher colleges merged with the University of Wisconsin System in 1971, the Normal School Fund now primarily finances scholarships and environmental education programming at the University of Wisconsin System. The University Fund was created from congressional grants in 1838 and 1854 of four townships to be sold to support a land-grant university. Neither Congress nor the Legislature provided for additional revenues to the University Fund following the sale of most of the university lands. Interest on the remaining trust fund principal is distributed annually from the University Fund to the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The Agriculture College Fund was created from the proceeds of land grant allocated to the state by the Morrill Land-Grant Colleges Act. The state received of land under this Act. Neither Congress nor the Legislature provided for additional revenues to the Agricultural College Fund following the rapid sale of the agricultural college lands. Interest on trust fund principal is distributed annually from the Agricultural College Fund to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the state's land-grant university.
Investments
BCPL invests principal from its School Trust Funds in a variety of bonds, stock and securities to finance public-school libraries and elements of the University of Wisconsin System. Sometimes, BCPL purchases bonds issued by the State of Wisconsin Building Commission to not only diversity its trust assets portfolio, but also to support important projects in other state agencies. In 2006 for example, BCPL purchased $2 million in state bonds to benefit the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs. Besides the proceeds of unclaimed property and the clear proceeds of fines, fees and forfeitures collected in the many counties credited to the Common School Fund, BCPL generates additional revenue to the benefit of trust beneficiaries through sustainable forestry and the sale of less productive School Trust Lands in exchange for more productive parcels. Public land sales are by private sale and either paid with cash or through mortgaged installments. BCPL further grows its trust assets by issuing loans from the four School Trust Funds to Wisconsin municipalities and school districts to finance capital investments, economic development, and other public purpose projects. Principal and interest on these investments are payable annually at BCPL's office in downtown Madison, Wisconsin.
State Treasurer Sarah Godlewski currently serves as chair of the Board. The three commissioners are supported by a staff to carry out the day-to-day operations of the agency. Tia Nelson, daughter of late governor and U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson, previously served as Executive Secretary of the BCPL from October 2004 to July 2015. The current Executive Secretary is Tom German, who succeeded his predecessor Jonathan Barry following the latter's retirement on January 4, 2020. BCPL is a member of the Western States Land Commissioners Association, an organization that represents and advocates for the land boards in the several western states.
