MADISON, Wis. AP ? A key legislative committee voted Thursday to slash the University of Wisconsin Systems budget, venting its anger a few weeks after learning the system raised tuition for six straight years even though its currently sitting on a surplus of $650 million.
Thursday will be a day of reckoning for the beleaguered University of Wisconsin System as the Legislature?s budget-writing committee debates how much money to give public universities in the 2013-?15 state budget.
MADISON ? A broad array of state properties, including prisons, university dormitories, power plants and highways, could be sold to private buyers without going through a public bidding process, under a provision approved by the Legislature?s budget committee on Tuesday.
Madison ? Republicans on the Legislature?s budget committee largely signed off Tuesday on giving Gov. Scott Walker broad authority to sell heating plants, highways and other state property without seeking competitive bids, but stipulated that lawmakers must approve any sale.
A wide-reaching change that would allow the state to sell off properties ranging from prisons and power plants to University of Wisconsin dormitories and state highways is up for approval before the Legislatures budget committee.
During the battle over actions initiated by Gov. Scott Walker in 2011 in response to a $3.6 billion budget deficit, the University of Wisconsin system was sitting on a dirty little secret.
The Walker administration has laid out a plan that would reduce the University of Wisconsin?s (UW?s) reserves by $136 million, partly through a $94 million dollar cut in state funding.
Backpedaling on budget plans for University of Wisconsin campuses might mean more pay freezes or heftier tuition hikes later, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Chancellor Joe Gow said Thursday.
Students in the University of Wisconsin System will get a two-year tuition freeze.
The governor has trimmed the sails on the UW?s budget. News that the University of Wisconsin System has accumulated a budget surplus of some $650 million created a furor among Republican legislators, and now the administration of GOP Governor Scott Walker has responded with a revised budget proposal for the UW, which had originally stood to receive a 181 million dollar increase.
MADISON, Wis. — Gov. Scott Walker submitted a revised budget for the University of Wisconsin System on Wednesday that calls for freezing tuition over the next two years and imposing additional spending cuts in light of news the university has a $650 million surplus.
Freeze University of Wisconsin UW tuition, but give the university system more state tax funds. Those are the messages from a new poll.
If state lawmakers move to freeze tuition on University of Wisconsin campuses, the public will largely support that plan. That?s according to the latest Marquette University Law School poll, which found 76 percent of those responding support blocking the UW System from increasing tuition over the next two years.
MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin?s budget surplus grew by $500 million Thursday, leading to a bipartisan call by state lawmakers and Gov. Scott Walker to put some of the money toward public schools two years after funding was cut by more than $1 billion.
Outgoing University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor David Ward provided clarification about the university?s recently discovered surplus funds in Monday?s Faculty Senate meeting, saying a majority of the balances will be used as financial aid resources.
Large reserve funds held at University of Wisconsin System campuses are embarrassing the Republican- controlled state government.
MADISON, Wis. — Gov. Scott Walker said Monday it?s still unclear how much money originally targeted for the University of Wisconsin System will instead be diverted to pay for deeper tax cuts and to help K-12 schools. Walker said he?s still talking with UW officials about how much money is needed to pay for freezing tuition systemwide while also investing in economic development programs at the university he supports.
Amid calls for a tuition freeze from state lawmakers, financial records found the University of Wisconsin System?s reserve funds are expected to grow $150 million by the end of June.
A growth in out-of-state residents attending public universities is crowding out poor and minority students and making it more difficult for people from those backgrounds to get ahead, a new report argues.
Sounds like a case of academic Freaky Friday: College students push for higher tuition prices, while lawmakers attempt to reverse the trend of rising college costs.
The University of Wisconsin System administration plans to develop a new policy to govern its cash reserves after the state Legislative Fiscal Bureau recently discovered the system held a $1 billion balance in June of last year, according to a system statement.
A tuition surplus makes up about $12 million of the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh?s $37 million reserve fund, campus officials said.
?What?s happening to the UW reserve money?? the woman asked. She was concerned about criticism of the University of Wisconsin. ?It seems like they want to attack the UW,? she told attendees at the Mondovi Town Hall Meeting.
It?s time to freeze tuition at UW schools. The same day the University of Wisconsin System president proposed a 2 percent tuition increase, we learned that the system had more than $648 million in cash reserves at the end of the last fiscal year.
If you haven?t heard, the University of Wisconsin System has a surplus. It turns out the university system, whose annual budget of $5.6 billion is about the size of Bermuda?s gross domestic product, has about $650 million in reserve funds. A Legislative Fiscal Bureau report last week revealed these funds, and it was immediately taken up by lawmakers who questioned how that much money could be sitting in reserve at the same time tuition rates have been rising.
A forum on the proposed state budget?s impact on local government Monday night settled into a discussion about the merits of the University of Wisconsin System?s $650 million in reserve funds.
Wisconsin is not the first state to question its universities? books according to Kevin Kiley, a reporter with the online publication Inside Higher Education. Kiley says other states have also assumed they?ve stumbled upon a surplus, then learned otherwise.
MADISON ? Ellie Bruecker is set to graduate next month from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, shouldering about $20,000 in student loans.
WAUKESHA, Wis. ? Gov. Scott Walker began to hedge Thursday on his initial proposal to boost the University of Wisconsin System?s budget by $181 million, saying most of that money may be redirected to pay for a tuition freeze or boost funding for public schools.
The University of Wisconsin system is under fire from both parties in the state Legislature after a Legislative Fiscal Bureau report showed it had $650 million in reserve ? including $414 million in tuition reserves ? despite annual tuition increases of more than 5 percent.
Reaction to last week?s revelation that the University of Wisconsin System has built a $648 million reserve fund has run the gamut, from hyper-critical to shrugs of indifference.
Governor Scott Walker backs off on his original plan to increase the University of Wisconsin System?s budget by more than $180 million. Backlash from revelations the system has $650 million in surplus has led politicians in both parties to call for a tuition freeze.
The firestorm surrounding University of Wisconsin System?s reported $648 million in cash assets at the end of the last fiscal year has attracted national attention.
The Legislature?s audit committee co-chairs called for a larger audit on the University of Wisconsin System following Friday?s revelation of its $648 million surplus and the frustration from legislators that has ensued.
Gov. Scott Walker and state legislators from both sides of the aisle are calling for a full University of Wisconsin System tuition freeze after a state audit revealed the system is operating with a $648 million surplus of unrestricted funds.
Local members of the UW Board of Regents say its time to have a serious discussion about how to handle future surpluses within the UW System.
Republican Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald is breaking with Gov. Scott Walker over funding for the University of Wisconsin System.
Democrats and Republicans in state government are uniting in opposition to tuition hikes at the University of Wisconsin in the wake of reports that the university has a substantial reserve fund from tuition revenues.
Chalk this one up under the category of, ?You Gotta Be Kidding.? Like clockwork, every year, the sprawling University of Wisconsin system pleads and whines about the penurious state of its finances and objects to the tight?fistedness of the legislature. That is generally followed by yet another announcement that tuition costs for students and parents will be raised in an amount exceeding prevailing inflation rates.
On Wednesday, UWM Chancellor Mike Lovell released a statement addressing the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee?s cash balance. He did so, in response to criticism over a state audit indicating the UW System has built up reserves of $648 million, mostly from tuition:
Is saving money for a rainy day good public policy? The answer ? in Wisconsin anyway ? appears to be based on which side of the political aisle you sit.
Gov. Scott Walker plans to ask the Legislature to freeze tuition at the University of Wisconsin in light of reports that UW has $650 million in reserves.
Irate Wisconsin legislative leaders are threatening to withhold funds from the University of Wisconsin and force a tuition freeze after discovering the school has quietly amassed a $650 million reserve fund unbeknownst to lawmakers.
The recent discussions over a $1 billion surplus in the University of Wisconsin System balance boiled over Tuesday as a planned discussion on the system?s Human Resources program before the state?s Joint Committee on Employment Relations turned into a heated question and answer session with UW System President Kevin Reilly.
The amount of excess cash in the University of Wisconsin System?s bank account is: A) “Nearly $1 billion” B) $648 million C) $207 million.
Tuesday?s hearing of the legislature?s Joint Committee on Employment relations was scheduled well ahead of the news late last week concerning the University of Wisconsin System?s $648 million budget surplus. The agenda was to include testimony from UW System President Kevin Reilly and UW Madison Chancellor David Ward, regarding a proposed personnel system. Given the furor surrounding the surplus though, that was clearly not going to happen.
Across Wisconsin, many of us felt the spirit of radicalism in the air during 2011. Gov. Scott Walker?s Budget Repair Bill spurned an outburst of political protests from educators, students and legislators, throwing Madison into the national spotlight. Although we are two years from the protests, the topic is as relevant as ever.
The release of a state audit that revealed the University of Wisconsin System held a balance of over $1 billion at the end of June 2012 has prompted discussion among state legislators, system administrators and campus leaders over the role of tuition dollars and cash reserves.
After the University of Wisconsin System called for a tuition increase despite holding over $1 billion in reserve funds, lawmakers have voiced plans for a possible budget reform for funding the system in the governor?s budget.
MILWAUKEE ? Gov. Scott Walker says he is not looking to cut funding for the University of Wisconsin System in his proposed budget despite a report that it has amassed a huge tuition surplus.
Gov. Scott Walker says he is not looking to cut funding for the University of Wisconsin System in his proposed budget despite a report that it has amassed a huge tuition surplus.
The Joint Finance Committee held its final officially scheduled hearing sessions on Gov. Scott Walker?s biennial budget in Baldwin Thursday.
The Legislature?s Joint Finance Committee will be in western Wisconsin next week at Baldwin-Woodville High School to hear public opinion on Gov. Walker?s proposed 2013-15 state budget. The fate of this budget will help determine the quality of education at UW-Stout and on other UW campuses for years to come.
Two years after a law passed restricting collective bargaining rights for many public employee unions, union membership has plunged in two major organized labor delegations, and 93 percent fewer workers received raises.
The University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents delved deeper into the details of Gov. Scott Walker?s biennial budget Thursday, emphasizing how his proposal would keep tuition down while helping to grow Wisconsin?s workforce if passed in its current form.
Heads of each University of Wisconsin System school, the UW System president and two Board of Regents leaders expressed support for the state budget?s funding and flexibility for the system Monday.
MADISON ? A $32-million addition to Babcock Hall and a $42.8-million Meat Science and Muscle Biology Laboratory were among the UW-Madison projects given preliminary approval by the State Building Commission March 20 at a meeting in Madison.
University of Wisconsin System President Kevin Reilly asked the Legislature Thursday to avoid capping tuition, although he assured lawmakers students would see the smallest tuition increase in recent years.
University of Wisconsin System President Kevin Reilly testifies before the legislature?s budget committee in favor of the governor?s budget proposal. ?If the governor?s proposed budget passes as is, we could see the lowest tuition increases in the UW in a decade, which would clearly be welcome news to our 180,000+ students and their families.?
A nonpartisan Wisconsin legislative analysis agency?s report released last week brought to light a provision of Gov. Scott Walker?s proposed biennial budget allowing a state department to sell or lease state-owned properties.
