Good news may be in store for Wisconsin residents attending UW schools if Gov. Scott McCallum’s proposed financial aid increase passes.

Last week McCallum announced state financial aid recipients could see a 14.5 percent increase under his new economic stimulus package. This would be a 10 percent increase from the already approved 4.5 percent increase the governor approved as part of the original biannual state budget.

The governor?s press secretary, Debbie Monterrey-Millett, said the increase in the Wisconsin Higher Education Grant, a state program providing access to education for low- and moderate-income UW system students, shows McCallum’s commitment to education.

“Governor McCallum felt the increase was very important because he feels education is a top priority,” she said.

Some students feel the proposal is long overdue.

“We’re really supportive of the financial aid increase,” said Craig Troust, legislative affairs director of UW’s United Council. “We would have liked to see more the first time around.”

Jessica Miller, Associated Students of Madison chair, said the proposal is a good start, but she is concerned McCallum may be overlooking key funding, such as aid for out-of-state students.

“It’s good that the governor is finally taking action on his long spoken-about commitment to education,” she said. “We’ll have to wait and see how the rest of it pans out.”

Troust remarked that although tuition has been increasing yearly, financial aid has not.

The proposal follows an announcement by McCallum saying he does not want to solve the budget deficit by increasing taxes.

Monterrey-Millett said the governor thinks giving financial priority to higher education is key to solving the state’s recession.

“The governor is committed to building an economic base in Wisconsin, and we can’t do that without well-trained workers,” she said. “We need to give everyone an opportunity to attend school.”

United Council president Matt Fargen agreed.

“We understand these are hard times and the UW system is not exempt from the realities of our economy,” he said. “However, students are optimistic that the governor recognizes the importance of keeping higher education affordable and accessible.”

According to United Council, the average UW student graduates with a debt over $15,000.

“At the rate I’m going, I’ll have to work for decades to pay off my loans,” UW senior Jeff Rousch said.

The package will be introduced Tuesday, but thus far, no one has been able to predict when the proposal would go into effect if passed.