University of Wisconsin System and Wisconsin Department of Corrections officials defended their requests for the 2025-27 biennial budget during an agency briefing held by the Republican-controlled budget writing committee on April 1.
Both UW System President Jay Rothman and state Department of Corrections Secretary Jared Hoy defended Gov. Tony Evers’ proposed Capital Budget, which called for an over $856 million investment in higher education and $500 million to improve Wisconsin’s aging correctional facilities.
Rothman told lawmakers new investment is needed after years of reduced funding and a tuition freeze implemented by the GOP-controlled state Legislature under former Republican Gov. Scott Walker, adding that UW System campuses have made “painful choices” in recent years to eliminate budget deficits.
“We are not asking today for an investment to bail us out of our budget problems in the past,” Rothman told lawmakers. “Rather, we are seeking funding to preserve and protect what we have to make strategic investments that will help us flourish in the future.”
Rothman emphasized his support for the increased funding, agreeing with Evers’ view that this year's budget will be a “make it or break it” one for the system.
When Rep. Tip McGuire, D-Kenosha, asked what would happen if the funding was not provided, Rothman said that the school would have no choice but to raise tuition fees to cover spending costs.
“That’s one of the levers I don’t want to use” if the UW System is “not funded at an adequate level,” Rothman said, highlighting that accessibility to higher education should be kept at all costs.
Committee Republicans grilled Rothman on what they perceived as “administrative bloat,” specifically pointing to the growth in non-teaching positions on UW System campuses, questioning if the universities have done enough to reduce spending.
Born also pointed out the idea of funding new campus programs within the UW System, saying that there was no need for new funding to create new programs despite Rothman’s earlier statement that the UW had already had to cut 100 programs.
“I think the fact of the matter is if we had kept up with inflation in terms of our state support, we’d be in a different position,” Rothman said.
Additionally, the agency briefing discussed Evers’ sweeping $500 million proposal in correctional reforms such as shuttering the Green Bay Correctional Institution, expanding the current release program capacity for nonviolent individuals and improving the safety and security of facilities such as Waupun Correctional Institution and Lincoln Hills School.
Hoy said policy changes and the proposed increased investments, including increased capital projects, are necessary to improve “safety for those in our communities and the people that work in our facilities every day.”
“Corrections have long been understood as maintaining secure facilities, preventing escapes, ensuring staff and persons in our care are protected from harm,” Hoy added, saying that these investments are more than “simply a list of funding requests” but a “blueprint for the future” of state corrections in Wisconsin.
Hoy also rejected the notion a new penitentiary facility should be constructed with the adequate safety measures desired by the state Senate. Hoy said there’s an urgent need for these measures to be enforced and that the agency did not have the luxury of time to wait “10-12 years for a new facility to be built.”
Following the agency briefing, the budget-writing committee kicked off a series of public hearings on the next state budget. Hearings will be held throughout the state in the coming weeks.
