Wary about how to deal with a $250 million cut system-wide without exceeding tuition caps prescribed in the proposal, members of the University of Wisconsin System community gave Gov. Jim Doyle’s budget address mixed reviews Tuesday.
Details of the budget will now come under legislative scrutiny, but Doyle has included sizeable cuts to many areas of state spending, including to the UW System.
“I know how important our universities are to individual opportunity and economic development alike,” Doyle said. “But everyone must share in the sacrifice needed to clean up the budget mess — and the university system can’t be an exception.”
Rep. Gregg Underheim, R-Oshkosh, said education has always been one of Doyle’s priorities, as was evident in the budget presentation.
“When I campaigned this last election, I told students on campus there would be a significant increase in tuition,” said Underheim, who represents the area where UW-Oshkosh is located. “These cuts are obviously going to hit schools, municipalities, universities and pretty much everyone.”
Doyle, expecting the Board of Regents to raise student tuition for in-state students to deal with the cut to the system, capped tuition increases at $250 a semester at most UW universities, and $350 a semester on the Madison and Milwaukee campuses.
“I hope the university and the Board of Regents won’t increase tuition even that much, but under no circumstances may they go higher,” Doyle said.
UW Regent Jonathan Barry said the budget plan — including the cut for universities — could be changed. The Republican Legislature might make approval of Doyle’s proposed cuts difficult, he said.
“It’s not clear to me that the Legislature will accept that high a level of an increase,” Barry said. “I just hope the Legislature doesn’t make deeper cuts.”
Peggy Rosenzweig, one of Doyle’s recent appointees, said that Doyle’s offer of a historic financial-aid increase might ease regents’ reluctance to raise tuition.
“For a working family, $250 or $350 is a lot of money,” Doyle said. “That’s why this budget boosts financial aid by 56 percent — the biggest increase in Wisconsin history.”
Assembly Speaker John Gard, R-Peshtigo, said the Legislature would try to limit tuition increases as much as possible.
Barry said the $250 million cut could be partially offset if the regents decided to raise tuition to Doyle’s maximum limits, but that a cut of this size “will be almost impossible to deal with by simply raising tuition.”
Barry said System President Katharine Lyall’s first principle in dealing with budget cuts was finding places for cuts within the system without eliminating instructive positions. The regents would then look at raising tuition, he said, and decrease enrollment only as an absolute last resort.
Doyle’s budget eliminates 2,900 state-funded jobs, which will come from state agencies and UW operations. The budget also authorizes creating 900 new positions reflecting independent actions at the UW System and UW Hospital and Clinics. Regents expect such balance to make cuts bearable.
“I hate to see the university get any cuts,” said Rep. Terese Berceau, D-Madison. “The university is the most incredible of our state resources. It’s a bright star in the universe of universities.”
