Two Republican lawmakers aim to restrict how much the University of Wisconsin System can increase tuition if and when the undergraduate resident tuition freeze set to enter its seventh year is lifted.
The budget provides less than half of what the UW asked for and what they asked for wasn’t enough to sustain the System’s capacity to educate students.
UW System President Ray Cross also issued this statement: “The budget passed by the legislature makes a significant long-term investment in our campus infrastructure that will benefit students, our faculty, and the state for years to come … I also thank Governor Evers for his steadfast commitment to the University of Wisconsin System during the budget process, and everyone who continues to advocate for a strong UW System budget.”
The $81 billion state budget the Republican-run Legislature is approving this week includes $8.8 million for research on dairy farming at UW-Madison, UW-Platteville and UW-River Falls. Democratic Gov. Tony Evers is expected to — and should — issue partial vetoes to improve the Republican-proposed budget. But he should leave the Dairy Innovation Hub intact.
Noted: Their budget would give an additional $58 million to University of Wisconsin schools, about half of what Evers wanted.
The GOP budget also falls short of Evers’ proposal for the UW System. UW System campuses over the next two years would gain about $45 million under the GOP plan, about half of what Evers and System officials wanted.
Education funding: The budget includes an almost $500 million increase in K-12 investments — $900 million less than what Evers sought — and around $58 million in funding for the University of Wisconsin System, some $70 million less than what the governor wanted.
A second Republican state senator said Thursday that he would vote against Wisconsin’s state budget, giving Republicans a razor-thin margin to pass the plan without help from Democrats.
The new president of the board overseeing Wisconsin’s public universities will likely not move to undo any major changes spearheaded by his predecessors.
Wisconsin lawmakers are set to take up an $81.5 billion two-year spending plan this month that was written by Republicans but shaped by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers.
Wisconsin Republicans have rewritten Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ state budget in the past few weeks, pushing it through the Joint Finance Committee they control last week to set up floor votes in the full Legislature.
In the battle over the 2019-’21 state budget, faculty salaries for the University of Wisconsin System have made for their own skirmish.
The Republican-controlled Wisconsin Legislature is rejecting the voters’ message. They are cutting the budget requests to fund our public schools and the UW.
The Legislature’s Republican-controlled budget committee on Tuesday voted to approve about $1.9 billion for state building projects, with about half earmarked for upgrades and renovations at University of Wisconsin System buildings, many of which have gone without repairs for years.
Republican lawmakers Tuesday approved $1.9 billion in construction projects and building improvements across the state — with more than half being spent on University of Wisconsin System campuses, approving the vast majority of what Gov. Tony Evers wanted for colleges and universities.
The Legislature’s state budget committee voted Tuesday evening to approve $1.9 billion for state construction projects, including more than $1 billion for University of Wisconsin System projects.
There are two worlds in the chemistry labs at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. The first, in an aged and worn building, students and faculty make do with what they have: rows of tables that hinder collaboration, outdated fume hoods, chipping woodwork and spots of corrosion.
Summary of legislature’s budget plan for UW: The UW System would get $58 million, $45 million of which would only be released after lawmakers approve of how the university intends to spend it. That’s far less than university officials expected after weeks of discussions with lawmakers, below the $60 million cost-to-continue and short of the $150 million Evers proposed. Republicans did agree with Evers’ call to continue the tuition freeze, already in its sixth year, for at least two more years.
Evers is still pushing to save priorities that have been killed, including more money for K-12 schools, the University of Wisconsin System and expanding Medicaid.
University of Wisconsin System President Ray Cross said employers in Wisconsin are “screaming” for more talent offered by graduates from state campuses as he continued his pitch for more investment in state higher education.
University of Wisconsin System leaders on Tuesday urged lawmakers to stop “kicking the can down the road” and support their unprecedented financial request to renovate and repair aging campus buildings.
The Republicans on the budget-writing Joint Finance Committee, who hold a 12-4 majority because of arcane legislative rules, have been making a mockery of the state’s political process as they go through the budget recommendations made by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers. If Evers likes it, throw it out. If there’s something he doesn’t like, put it in.
Republican legislators on Tuesday rejected Gov. Tony Evers’ proposed $130 million state funding increase for the University of Wisconsin System, a move that system leadership likened to a kick in the shins.
Rep. Chris Taylor, D-Madison, expressed concerns that this amount of money wouldn’t cover increasing costs and would damage the UW System.
University of Wisconsin System President Ray Cross says he feels like he’s been “kicked in the shins” after Republicans who control the Legislature’s budget committee approved spending $69 million less on UW than Gov. Tony Evers proposed.
Cross said he had been told up until last week Thursday that the system’s budget ask was reasonable, adding he was shocked by the committee’s action. “The Legislature missed an opportunity to meet the future needs of this state,” he said. “I just can’t get over that. This was a great opportunity for them. We are the solution for a lot of the problems the state has.”
The Republican-controlled state budget-writing committee extended a tuition freeze for undergraduate residents attending University of Wisconsin campuses over the next two academic years.
The budget committee is planning to meet again next Tuesday, when members are expected to vote on budgets from the University of Wisconsin System and Department of Natural Resources, among others.
The correctional pay raise includes the 2 percent increases that would also be awarded to other state workers, as well as UW System employees. Those payments would be doled out on Jan. 1, 2020, and Jan. 1, 2021.
Advocates for K-12 schools and the University of Wisconsin System were optimistic Tuesday that Republicans will spend more money on education, but they don’t know how much to expect other than something less than what Democratic Gov. Tony Evers proposed.
Republicans on the state’s budget-writing committee approved a 2% annual wage increase for most state employees Tuesday, plus a 14% boost to the minimum wage for state prison employees.
UW System president’s column: An investment in UW System will help us continue these successes and generate more graduates — especially in high-need areas such as nursing, engineering, business, computer science, information technology and data science. Across the System, our campuses have plans to expand these vital areas through our 2019-21 state budget capacity-building initiatives.
Sen. Howard Marklein and Rep. Travis Tranel are sponsoring a bill that would give the University of Wisconsin System $7.9 million fund annually to create and fund the UW Dairy Innovation Hub at UW-Madison, UW-Platteville and UW-River Falls.
Chris Taylor, Shelia Stubbs talk transportation, campus renovations, housing, university funding.
The report comes at a time of guarded optimism for the University of Wisconsin System and its campuses. The election of Democratic Gov. Tony Evers is seen by higher education advocates as a way to offset some of the cuts imposed by his predecessor, Republican Gov. Scott Walker.
Gov. Tony Evers’ proposed budget for the 2019-’21 biennium includes a recommendation to allow undocumented students to receive in-state tuition at UW System and Wisconsin Technical College System institutions — and this is not the first time Wisconsin legislature has considered it.
UW-Madison officials are hoping lawmakers will help pay to build a new veterinary school on campus.
UW officials say the increase could indirectly help with a key university mission–research.
University of Wisconsin System President Ray Cross says university officials will continue to push lawmakers for investment in campus buildings despite the State Building Commission rejecting $2.5 billion in state renovation projects around the state.
UW-Madison students are signing up in record numbers to study computer science, elevating the program to be the most popular undergraduate major on campus in each of the last two years.
Noted: John Holovoet of the Wisconsin Dairy Business Association told of the proposed UW Dairy Innovation Hub $7.6 million funding request. The proposal focuses on four areas: land and water resource stewardship; enrichment of human health; growth of farm businesses and communities and animal health.
The governor included a request of $88 million of state funding for the expansion of the UW School of Veterinary Medicine that was built in 1983 to see 12,000 patients a year, a figure that has since risen to 27,000. The always top five rated school of Veterinary School in the nation has trained over 50 percent of the veterinarians practicing in the state. The $128 million project includes some $38 million from private donations in addition to the state funds.
The building commission is required to make recommendations and send them over to the Republican-controlled Joint Finance Committee. But now, the committee might have to start from scratch. That means it is possible that some projects could be delayed and others stalled from moving forward.
Noted: Nearly half of the $2.5 billion for building projects — or $1.1. billion — would be for University of Wisconsin System campuses, with more than $506 million of it coming from borrowing that would be paid back by taxpayers.
Republicans on the Wisconsin Building Commission rejected Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ plan for $2.5 billion worth of construction projects across the state, an unprecedented move Wednesday that speaks to challenge of divided government and moves the fight over capital building projects to the Legislature.
In a likely unprecedented move, the State Building Commission failed Wednesday to recommend any of Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ $2.5 billion in proposed capital budget projects after Republicans voted them down one by one.
Some Wisconsin higher education leaders say the proposed state budget from Democratic Gov. Tony Evers could reduce a worker shortage and keep more talent from leaving the state.
But the Wisconsin Farm Bureau would like to prioritize the positions of integrated specialist roles that would hold a joint appointment between UW-Madison’s College of Agricultural and Life Sciences and UW-Extension. Those specialists perform and teach the specialized research that is essential to Wisconsin farmers.
Evers proposed a $48 million renovation of the Kohl Center to include academic services for student athletes and a $78 million plan to renovate the Camp Randall Stadium south end zone bleachers to include field-level club space aimed at generating more funds.
University of Wisconsin System President Ray Cross stopped by the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s aging chemistry building Wednesday to express his support for the governor’s plan to replace it with a new $129.5 million facility.
Republican lawmakers on Tuesday accused Democratic Gov. Tony Evers of giving undocumented students more favorable treatment than military veterans in his proposed state budget. But as Republicans waged a campaign against the spending plan, Democrats argued the GOP opposition was based on a flawed comparison.
Democrats have been pushing the concept for years, but it has failed to earn the support of Republicans who control the Legislature. Evers will need Republican approval to implement the refinancing effort, along with the rest of his budget.
About half the money from Governor Tony Evers’ proposed building program would be spent on University of Wisconsin campuses.
Gov. Tony Evers is proposing to restore $3.5 million to the University of Wisconsin-Extension under the next budget and boost the number of county agriculture agents.
Governor Tony Evers’ proposed capital budget includes borrowing $2 billion over the next two fiscal years, a plan at least one legislative leader calls “alarming.” A release from the governor’s office says Evers is “recommending historic investments in state-owned vertical infrastructure.”
Fitzgerald said in a statement the level of spending and borrowing in the plan is “alarming” especially given tax increases in Evers’ state budget proposal. That separate spending plan calls for raising the gas tax by 8 cents per gallon and capping tax credits for manufacturers.
Democratic Gov. Tony Evers has requested more than $2.5 billion in his two-year building projects capital budget, with close to half of the proposed money going to upgrades and renovations at University of Wisconsin System facilities.
Gov. Tony Evers wants to spend $2.5 billion on building projects — nearly half of which would be for University of Wisconsin System campuses.
A $150 million funding increase for University of Wisconsin campuses and major interstate improvements in the Milwaukee area are unlikely to happen without tax increases Republicans oppose, Gov. Tony Evers said Monday.
Officials from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire are happy with Governor Tony Evers’ first budget proposal.
When it comes to higher education, Evers pledged a $150 million increase for the University of Wisconsin System, which would be the UW’s largest state funding increase in more than a decade. Part of that would be used to offset the lost revenue from continuing a tuition freeze for in-state undergraduate students.
