[media-credit name=’RAY PFEIFFER/Herald Photo’ align=’alignright’ width=’336′][/media-credit]The University of Wisconsin Board of Regents took an official stand Thursday against the proposed state Taxpayer Protection Amendment.

The controversial bill, recently proposed by Sen. Glenn Grothman, R-West Bend, and Rep. Jeff Wood, R-Chippewa Falls, is designed to install revenue limits on state and local governments. The regents came out against the amendment, saying they believe the tax restrictions proposed by TPA would hurt the UW System because of eventual decreases in funding.

"This goes to the heart of the mission of the university," Regent Mike Spector said during Thursday's special meeting, where the board discussed possible effects of the bill.

Regents cited tuition hikes and enrollment decreases as likely consequences if the TPA is passed, which were results the board opposed.

Freda Harris, UW System associate vice president for budget and planning, spoke to the board about the potential impacts of TPA limitations on the UW System while presenting predictions based on UW's costs over the past six years.

Harris admitted the prediction was a "conservative estimate," because the numbers were based on averages rather than trends in cost increases, which has shown significant biennial increases since 2001.

According to Harris, if TPA's impacts were to take effect in the next biennium, UW would have to make a decision whether to increase tuition, decrease enrollment, or both, to compensate for gaps between funding and costs.

The possible outcomes could include an enrollment decrease by nearly 11,000 students or a tuition increase of just over 11 percent in the 2007-08 fiscal year, according to Harris' predictions.

UW tuition actually increased by a larger amount than this in 2003 and 2004 — 18.2 percent and 15.4 percent respectively — however these increases are relatively uncharacteristic since they came in a time of especially tight funding.

UW System President Kevin Reilly expressed concern that the trend of "higher and higher tuition rates and smaller and smaller numbers of students in the university" would only continue to worsen over time with implementation of TPA.

Others expressed unease over the bill's allowance for increases being tied only to inflation and population growth.

Arguing that, "[the UW System's] expenses increase at rates that are typically greater than the regular cost of living," Regent Mark Bradley, vice president of the board, said these increases probably would not be enough.

Bradley went on to question other parts of the bill, including a proposal for an emergency reserve fund, what the bill's co-author Wood has called a "rainy day fund." Bradley called the proposed function of the fund a way for legislators to "lull [voters] into complacency."

According to Harris, the UW System wouldn't have any special access to this emergency reserve money, but would have to compete with other state agencies for additional funding if the need arose.

Additionally, Regent Eileen Connolly-Keesler said since UW has been the subject of budget reductions even in less difficult times, there is no reason to believe the university system would not be the target of future cuts.

The board approved a resolution formally opposing the TPA, authorizing Reilly and board representatives to communicate the board's collective opposition to the Legislature.

The resolution says the bill's restriction of state revenue, which is tied to a cost-of-living formula, is "unrelated to many of the university's most significant expenses," and would make the goal of an increased number of baccalaureate degree holders in the state "unachievable."

According to the resolution, the TPA's effects would not be in the best interest of the citizens of Wisconsin. However, the regents noted that it would be the UW System that would be hit especially hard by TPA.

"When we cut 12,000 students each biennium, it's like cutting off a piece of us bit by bit," Regent Roger Axtell said. "The message that I hope we're sending is … this action would be crippling to the University of Wisconsin System."