Wisconsin Senate Democrats are finally coming to the plate this week regarding the state's $1.1 billion budget shortfall, and Tuesday they made a bold statement that someone at the state capitol is looking out for students' interests.
Senate Democrats voted Tuesday to cut a mere $20 million from the UW System budget over the next two years'far less than the $50.5 million in cuts proposed by Gov. Scott McCallum in January and the $108 million cut passed in Assembly Republicans' special session budget bill March 15.
The Senate plan is a victory for students on many fronts'it commits to smaller tuition increases, ties financial aid increases to tuition hikes and reinstates funding to attract students and improve UW's already stellar reputation as a world-class research university.
UW System President Katharine Lyall told the Associated Press Tuesday that the $20 million figure is what the system had originally planned for six months ago. Now, less than a week after Chancellor John Wiley testified that the Assembly plan would result in \devastating"" cuts'including the loss of 100 faculty positions and elimination of programs in the Madison Initiative'Lyall believes the Senate cuts would affect administrative costs and supplies, not students and faculty.
All of this is to be applauded, but plenty of work lies ahead. There is, after all, a $1.1 billion budget deficit to shore up, and Senate Democrats have so far focused primarily on adding funding. While their plans are laudable'the Senate has also proposed revoking a measure that would allow public libraries to charge for some services and reinstates $376,500 in funding to libraries; and adding $4 million to fund the Senate's campaign finance reform initiative'the Senate will have to find places to cut commensurate to where it has added. So far, the most substantial additional budget cut is to delay the opening of a prison in Stanley that would save $13.5 million in funds for the Department of Corrections, but is of questionable value for a state that spends approximately $52 million annually to pay for the housing of about 3,200 inmates in other states' prisons.
Also Tuesday, the Democrats released a plan to make additional cuts to other state agencies, but further cuts elsewhere will be necessary, especially if Democrats make good on their pledge to reinstate significant portions of the state's shared revenue funding with its municipalities.
And the Senate plan is certainly not perfect concerning the university. Senate Democrats trumped McCallum's plan to limit in-state tuition increases to 10 percent without legislative approval by setting the bar at 8 percent. But the proposal did not sufficiently assuage fears that the state's politicians are content balancing the UW System's budget on the backs of out-of-state students.
So students should not hold their collective breath. A Senate-Assembly conference committee will have to hammer out the differences between each house's plan, and McCallum will have to sufficiently agree to hold back his veto pen.
Still, Tuesday's plan is a breath of fresh air. The plan, which strives to hold down costs for students while placing an impetus on UW's position as a center for research and economic development, is a boon for students and the broader Wisconsin community.
The long-awaited Democratic plan for UW is on the table, and while the complete budget plan is still to be seen, the early signs are promising. Senate Democrats have long claimed to be the staunchest supporters of student interests at the capitol and Tuesday's plan strongly supports that assertion.
