As established by law, The Milwaukee Board of School Directors consists of nine members: one member elected at large, and eight members elected from numbered districts as determined by the Milwaukee Board of School Directors. The regular term of each member is four years and until their successors have been elected and qualified.

Legally, school boards are agents of the state, created by the legislature and selected by the electors of the local school district to represent and act for the state in providing the district with educational programs and facilities. The Milwaukee Board of School Directors is the policy-making body for the school system, serving within the framework provided by law, the will of the local citizenry, and the ethics of the education profession.

LEGAL REF.: United States Constitution, Tenth Amendment
Wisconsin Constitution, Article X
Wisconsin Statutes, Chapter 119

The Office of Board Governance provides support — in cooperation with, but independent of, the Superintendent — to the Milwaukee Board of School Directors in effectively and efficiently governing the District. The Office of Board Governance supplies support to the Board of School Directors, including, but not limited to, reviewing and proposing policy, conducting fiscal analyses, preparing communications for the Board and public, fulfilling statutory or other legal requirements, preparing meeting notices and agendas for Board and Committee meetings, serving as the Board's secretary, clerk, and parliamentarian, and maintaining records of the Board's actions. The office provides coordination between the Board and the Superintendent's office.

The office, by providing the Board with the most independent information available, assists the Board in its function of establishing district goals, priorities, rules, and policies.

Under the Office of Board Governance, the audit function is an integral part of the Board's decision-making process. Audit Services is responsible for conducting financial and performance (operational and program evaluation) audits and for ensuring that the District fully accounts for its activities, including:

• justification of programs which use public resources;
• economy, efficiency, and effectiveness of resource identification, acquisition, and application; and
• the effect of resource application