WI AB646

Department of Public Instruction must award a contract within 4 months of the bill's effective date to an outside entity to conduct a comprehensive study of Wisconsin school districts

Study must examine school district boundaries, geographic barriers to consolidation, facility conditions and capacity, school-age population distribution, staffing and salaries, debts and assets, pupil demographics, revenue limits, spending, property tax rates, and transportation

Contracted entity must submit a report within 10 months including recommendations for boundary changes, facility condition assessments, current and 10-year projected school-age population by district, and consolidation recommendations that promote efficiency and are geographically and economically viable

Each recommended consolidation must include estimated enrollment, municipalities within the proposed district, existing school locations and grade levels served, and property values

DPI must submit the report to the Joint Committee on Finance and legislative standing committees, and must request supplemental funding from JCF by July 1, 2026 to accomplish the study