With the Republican-controlled state Assembly rejecting Gov. Jim Doyle's amended budget in a special session Monday, University of Wisconsin System representatives are still unsure of what the state's future will hold.
The Senate passed the governor's budget 18-14 after four hours of deliberation Monday, only to be rejected by the Assembly 53-44 a few hours later.
UW System spokesperson David Giroux said the state Legislature holds not only the future of the UW System in their hands, but also Wisconsin's economic future.
"We remind people that the citizens of the state are really quite strongly demanding more educational opportunities for their kids and their grandkids," Giroux said. "Parents want their children to have more choices, more degree options, more class sections, so they can graduate on time."
Giroux added Wisconsin residents want the UW System to reach out into the community, encouraging economic development.
UW System cuts would go beyond simply cutting some class sections, according to Giroux.
And UW Regent Chuck Pruitt said the regents were "very disappointed that the Assembly did not pass a budget," even though Doyle's budget was not completely what the regents were hoping for.
"That budget obviously will have a $25 million cut to the university, which would require us to do some belt tightening and potentially have some consequences, but we certainly prefer to have that budget than to have no budget," Pruitt said.
Pruitt added the lack of a budget is "creating a serious sense of urgency" throughout the UW System and hopes the budget conference committee reaches a consensus soon.
"One hopes that those conversations will continue, and the end product will be a good budget for the university and the student, faculty and staff," Pruitt said.
Student Regent Colleene Thomas said deciding on a state budget is "a really tough situation for everyone involved," but one that needs to be resolved quickly.
"As time goes on, it becomes more and more worrisome to not have a budget," Thomas said. "The bottom line is if we don't have a budget, it's going to cause dramatic changes on every campus in the system."
Budget conference committee member Rep. Jeff Fitzgerald, R-Horicon, said Tuesday Doyle’s “compromise” budget is not helping the cause.
"The bipartisan dismissal of Governor Doyle's second budget bill is a clear signal that the governor and Senate Democrats simply want to raise taxes too high," Fitzgerald said in the statement. "By increasing taxes and spending by more than a billion dollars, Governor Doyle's second budget is not much better than his first."
