When Gov. Jim Doyle announced Wednesday that the state has a $3 billion deficit for the 2009-2011 budget, many are questioning what implications the state’s recently projected deficit may have for the University of Wisconsin System and its students, faculty and staff.
According to Lee Sensenbrenner, a spokesperson for Doyle, the state budget has traditionally faced a gap of 10 percent or more for every time the nation has faced an economic downturn or recession — and the current financial crisis is no different.
At a press conference Wednesday, Doyle said his No. 1 commitment is education. But whether he will be able to completely protect the education system from cuts is unseen, Sensenbrenner said.
“What that means is we’re going to have to put everything on the table, all the potential costs that we can reduce,” Sensenbrenner said. “It’s going to mean cutbacks.”
Sensenbrenner added that at this point in time, the governor has not ruled anything out.
David Giroux, UW System spokesperson, said he believes it is too early to tell how the system will be affected.
The UW System must be sensitive to the extreme economic challenges facing our nation right now, Giroux said, adding it will continue to look for ways to control costs and make sure they are being as productive, accountable and efficient as they possibly can.
Besides a long-term economic solution, Giroux said he thinks we need to focus on overall education in the state.
“There is a bit of a paradox there, as the need for academic research, job creation and higher education has never been greater,” he said. “We need to make sure that whatever we do to tighten our belts doesn’t shut the door for the increased demand for higher education that will most likely come.”
Jennifer Delaney, assistant professor in the Department of Education Leadership and Policy Analysis, said she has conducted research to see how funding for higher education works in relation to state budgets and said because it is discretionary, the funding is very likely to be cut in bad budget years.
UW has usually been very successful when it comes to raising grant money, but regardless, Delaney said students and their families may see price increases for tuition and fees.
She added it is crucial for students and administrators to be working together during this time to make the case that funding is needed for higher education.
“Students can be very powerful in this kind of political context,” Delaney said.
Doyle has been positioning the state to deal with this eventuality for some time now, according to Sensenbrenner.
“We were being more conservative before, with the budget repair bill and by building up a reserve fund, cutting spending and instructing agencies to send in their budget with 10 percent cuts,” Sensenbrenner said. “All of this was done ahead of time to prepare.”
He also noted the projected budget gap is only preliminary, and its exact magnitude is yet to be determined.
“We don’t know what the next month will bring or what we’ll be facing in 2009,” Sensenbrenner said, “so it’s a little early to say what each (state entity) will face in terms of cuts, but going forward and as the governor prepares his budget, the number will become clearer.”
