With the Wisconsin state budget now nearly three months behind schedule, politicians from both sides of the aisle are speaking out in support of sufficient funding for the University of Wisconsin System.
Yesterday, Democratic Governor Doyle met with Assembly Speaker Mike Huebsch, R-West Salem, and Senate Majority Leader Judy Robson, D-Beloit, at the governor's executive residence to discuss solutions to finalizing a budget.
"They started working collaboratively on coming up with a budget as quickly as possible," Doyle spokesperson Carla Vigue said.
Vigue also said the governor will meet with Robson and Huebsch again today, but as of yesterday no budget-related announcements were made.
In a series of letters and editorials throughout the past months, both Democratic and Republican politicians have expressed the necessity to fund their local universities and the UW System.
"The University of Wisconsin System is a vital component of Wisconsin's economy and our future economic growth and success," wrote Rep. Al Ott, R-Forest Junction, in a letter to Huebsch. "I respectfully request your consideration of a higher level of funding for the University of Wisconsin System beyond what was provided in the Assembly budget."
Sen. Julie Lassa, D-Stevens Point, echoed Ott's statement, and in a letter to Robson wrote how the lack of funding will hinder UW-Stevens Point from thriving in the future.
Among the issues of concern, according to Lassa, is the elimination of necessary faculty positions, the inability to create a new Health Sciences major and insufficient financial aid for "their most needy students."
Sen. Carol Roessler, R-Oshkosh, wrote to Huebsch on behalf of her local campus, UW-Oshkosh.
"It is … clear that the University (Oshkosh) is one of the nation's most efficient, but it cannot meet Northeast Wisconsin's growth needs if it continues to be underfunded," Roessler wrote. "I ask you to fully fund the UW universities' cost to continue, as well as the requested funding to better serve even more Wisconsin citizens."
The UW System has documented at least 10 similar letters from Democrats and Republicans alike, and UW System spokesperson David Giroux said he believes support extends even further.
"If this many of them are willing to come out and publicly support the university, I think there are even more of them that are quietly supporting the university," Giroux said. "This is a sign that when they do get to our budget that there's probably more consensus then you might think otherwise."
Giroux said the most pressing problem continues to be the lack of financial aid, which thousands of UW System students are currently on a waiting list to receive.
Josh Westcott, spokesperson for Robson, said a UW education should be available to students of all financial backgrounds.
"The university system shouldn't be for those who are just well-off," Westcott said. "You have to make sure that middle-class kids from working families can afford to go to UW too, and that's what our budget allows."
Westcott said the Assembly budget for the UW System is $25 million less then the Senate budget, including the elimination of "all increases in financial aid."
"Our budget funded the UW and its campuses at a level intended to continue education and make sure it is competitive and continues to be one of the best systems in the country," Westcott said. "The other side maintains that there is fat and excess in the UW, and they should be able to afford a pretty substantial cut."
John Murray, spokesperson for Huebsch, said regardless of the criticisms, the speaker's budget has made "a specific investment in the university."
"The speaker and our caucus feel very comfortable in the investment that we made in higher education," Murray said.
Murray said despite budget support from both Republicans and Democrats, no political issue is truly bipartisan.
"Every issue, in one way, shape or form ends up taking on somewhat of a partisan slant, whether it's right or wrong," Murray said. "The university's budget has, to some degree, become a partisan issue, and that's unfortunate, but that's the reality of where we've come in that discussion."
The overall theme in the letters sent to both Huebsch and Robson was that state legislators wanted to preserve and enhance the UW System.
"Whether you're a Democrat or a Republican, it shouldn't matter," wrote Rep. Jennifer Shilling, D-La Crosse, in an editorial printed in the La Crosse Tribune. "We owe it to our children, our grandchildren and our great-grandchildren to build on the tradition of our University System and ensure that residents have access to higher education that's second to none."
