Detachment and attachment of small territory initiated by school boards
Wis. Stat. § 117.13
in effect(1) Application. This section applies to the detachment of territory from one school district and its attachment to an adjoining school district if all of the following apply:
(a) The assessed value of the territory proposed to be detached from one school district and attached to an adjoining school district, divided by the assessment ratio of the taxation district, is less than 7 percent of the equalized valuation of the school district from which the territory is proposed to be detached.
(b) Less than 7 percent of the enrollment of the school district from which the territory is proposed to be detached resides in the territory proposed to be detached from that school district.
(2) School board action. The school boards of 2 adjoining school districts may order territory detached from one of the school districts and attached to the other school district by the adoption, by each of the school boards, of a resolution ordering the detachment and attachment. The resolution shall include a description of the territory sufficiently accurate to determine its location in the school district in which it is located, as certified by the clerk of each city, village or town within which all or any part of the territory is located, and the number of pupils residing in that territory who, on the most recent of the preceding 3rd Friday of September or 2nd Friday of January, were enrolled in the school district from which the territory is proposed to be detached, as certified by the clerk of that school district. Prior to adopting a resolution under this subsection, the school board of each affected school district shall give the electors residing in and the owners of the territory notice of the proposed reorganization and an opportunity to meet with the school board to present reasons for or against the proposed reorganization. The school district clerk of each school board that adopts a resolution under this subsection shall, within 5 days after adopting the resolution, send a certified copy of the resolution to the school board of the other affected school district and file a certified copy of the resolution as provided under s. 117.17 (2). If the school board of each of the affected school districts adopts a resolution ordering the detachment and attachment, the reorganization shall take effect on the first July 1 after the March 1 following the adoption of the resolutions, unless an appeal is filed under sub. (3).
(3) Appeal to panel. A majority of the electors residing in or the owners of 50 percent or more of the territory detached from one school district and attached to an adjoining school district under sub. (2) may appeal the reorganization to an appeal panel by filing notice of appeal with the secretary of the board before the first March 15 following the adoption of the resolution under sub. (2). The secretary of the board shall send a copy of the notice of appeal to the school board of each affected school district. If an appeal is filed under this subsection, the appeal panel shall issue an order detaching all or any part of the territory described in the resolution adopted under sub. (2) from the school district in which it is located and attaching it to the adjoining school district, or denying the reorganization. The order shall be issued before the June 15 following the filing of the notice of appeal. The order shall be in writing, shall include a statement of reasons for the order and shall be filed as provided under s. 117.17 (2). If the appeal panel affirms the school boards’ order, the reorganization shall take effect on the following July 1.
Source: WI Statutes (Official Site)URL: https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/document/statutes/117.13Fetched: 10/7/2026