The UW System will request a slight budget increase in the 2017-’19 state budget, according to a preliminary proposal released to reporters Tuesday.
The proposal requests an addition $42.5 million in additional state aid, a step up from the last budget where state universities saw their budget reduced by $250 million.
The UW System is also requesting an end to the in-state tuition freeze, which has kept tuition for Wisconsin residents at roughly $10,000 over the past four years. Gov. Scott Walker wants to keep the freeze in place for the next budget, but the proposal argues the freeze combined with the budget cut hampers the quality of education.
“The decision related to tuition costs should be kept at the Board of Regents: they are the closest to the students and need to be able to consider options for 2018 and beyond,” the document said.
But UW System President Ray Cross told the Wisconsin State Journal that the system was open to an extension of the tuition freeze as long as more money was invested to ease the budget strain.
Lawmakers have expressed an openness to giving the UW System more money, but it is unclear whether that sentiment will continue throughout the long budget process.
Walker has indicated he will include a budget increase for the UW System, with the funding being tied into a series of performance metrics. The measures could include graduation rate, job placement and the number of degrees awarded in certain fields, a Walker spokesperson said last week.
Joint Finance Committee Co-Chair and state Sen. Alberta Darling, R-River Hills, told WisPolitics Tuesday that she was heartened by a more reasonable budget proposal from the UW System.
“It looks like they're being more realistic, which is a good thing," Darling said.
Other lawmakers were less optimistic about the proposal. State Sen. Stephen Nass, R-Whitewater, blasted the decision to oppose the tuition freeze.
“Extending the UW-System tuition freeze is a clear choice for legislators; you can stand with Wisconsin’s middle class families or you can bow to desires from out-of-touch university administrators earning six-figure salaries,” Nass said in a statement. “I will continue to stand with middle class families and this issue will be fundamental for me in the next budget.”
The full budget proposal will be released next week ahead of the next Board of Regents meeting Aug. 18. All state agencies will submit their proposals to Walker by the end of September and the governor will introduce his vision of the budget in January.
Madeline Heim contributed to this story.
