Record numbers of government employees rushed to retire last year as Gov. Scott Walker and the Republican Legislature rolled back public employee union rights, reduced take home pay and increased medical co-pays.
In exchange for the $250 million the state Legislature cut from the University of Wisconsin System?s biennial budget last summer, lawmakers gave campuses authority to make decisions previously reserved for the Madison-based UW System.
University of Wisconsin-Parkside students should see an institution more responsive to their needs as the UW System reacts to a $250 million cut in state funding during the next two years, Chancellor Deborah Ford told a legislative task force Wednesday.
This story appeared first in the Sunday edition of the Wisconsin State Journal. UW System President Kevin Reilly said the state?s universities may need to cap enrollment if budget cuts continue, possibly jeopardizing a long-term plan to increase the number of UW graduates 30 percent by 2025.
“We don?t want to send a signal we?re going to do that and push students away from considering the university,” Reilly said. “On the other hand, if we feel we have to do that at some point to maintain the quality in the System, then I think we have to consider it.”
It was generally not a good year for public higher education in Wisconsin. In particular, 2011 was an especially frustrating period for many associated with UW-Madison. Wisconsin?s flagship institution of higher education lost its once-popular chancellor, Biddy Martin, to a highly regarded but small liberal arts college in Massachusetts following a political defeat at the state Capitol. The university, like all UW System institutions, is absorbing record-setting budget cuts as state leaders try to dig out of a budget hole without raising taxes. And UW-Madison?s highly regarded faculty and staff — again, like their counterparts across the state — not only learned they?d go another biennium without raises, but were forced to take a cut in take-home pay. Although few seem overly optimistic entering 2012, it can?t get any worse than this past year. Right?
The Walker administration delivered a lump of coal to the University of Wisconsin System just in time for the Christmas holiday, ordering the university system last Friday to shoulder more than a third of $123 million in budget cuts outlined in the state budget for next year.
Efforts by the University of Wisconsin System to have its disproportionate hit in state aid reconsidered have failed. On Friday, Gov. Scott Walker?s administration released its plan for cutting $123 million across state government by July, the Associated Press reports. This lapse — or one-time budget cut — was called for under the 2011-13 biennial budget passed earlier this year. And the UW System is absorbing the biggest hit, a whopping $46.1 million.
The University of Wisconsin System will have to cut another $46.1 million over six months, on top of a previously approved $250 million two-year reduction, under a detailed budget-balancing plan Gov. Scott Walker?s administration released Friday. The new cut to UW was part of $213.2 million in additional reductions ordered to be made across state government. The amount in cuts was approved under the budget passed in June but not specified until Friday. Walker?s Department of Administration ordered agencies to make the cuts without layoffs, if possible.
Gov. Scott Walker?s administration has released its plan for cutting $123 million across state government by July as called for under the budget passed earlier this year. The University of Wisconsin System would see the largest cut at $46.1 million.
Gov. Scott Walker?s administration is expected Friday to say where the state will slice to make $174 million in added budget cuts.
The state Building Commission approved several projects on Wednesday.
A liberal-leaning Milwaukee think tank is out with a new report blaming state budget program cuts and public worker paycheck reductions for exacerbating Wisconsin?s job struggles. The report from the Institute for Wisconsin?s Future says the reduction in take-home pay for tens of thousands of public employees is now hurting the private sector, as are the drastic state budget cuts for K-12 education. Steve Deller, an economics professor at UW-Madison, says that reducing spending during a deep recession can often make things worse, as this blog chart suggests.
“Economic modeling shows that the extreme cuts to state and local programs cost thousands of jobs and put Wisconsin in a weak position to create jobs,” says Deller, who appeared at the Capitol on Tuesday with Norman and Rep. Brett Hulsey, D-Madison, to introduce the IWF report.
University of Wisconsin System campuses may have fewer instructors and course offerings under a proposed one-time state budget cut of $65.8 million over two years, according to UW System President Kevin Reilly. Reilly wrote a letter last week to Brian Hayes, state budget director, outlining how the University of Wisconsin System would manage the cuts that Gov. Scott Walker?s administration unveiled in October.
I am a retired UW-Madison academic department manager, having worked for 36 years with the state and managed budgets for over 20 years. This is not an opinion regarding Gov. Scott Walker, but information on how the state budget works. People who say Walker has balanced the budget are stating an untruth.
UW System President Kevin Reilly remains hopeful the state will decrease funding cuts to the system, he told the Board of Regents Friday.
I am confused about Gov. Scott Walker?s inspiration for taking money from UW-Madison, one of the premier educational institutions in the world working on advancing human knowledge in breakthrough subjects you can?t even pronounce, then letting Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation give $4 million to a group of overpaid “experts” at Spectrum Brands who can?t make batteries or waffle irons without going bankrupt and losing the stockholders? money.
The social compact of the last century that promised students a high quality education at a low cost is gone, said UW-Madison Interim Chancellor David Ward in a presentation before the UW Board of Regents Thursday.He said university leaders need to be “extremely prudent” about raising tuition to offset declining state funds.
The UW-Madison Faculty Senate passed a second resolution officially addressing the decline in state budget support for higher education Monday.
While the governor suggests his ?reforms are working,? education officials report otherwise. Budget cuts impact every level of education. Local schools, technical colleges and UW campuses are all coping with changes required by deep budget cuts.
Members of the student governing board of UW System schools proposed legislation that would support a student strike if the state makes additional budget cuts to the system.
In the face of more budget cuts, leaders of the UW System sent a report detailing the benefits of $1.4 million in-state funding for research grants to a legislative committee Wednesday. Facing a $65.7 million budget lapse that has left the UW System with less money to fund grant programs, University representatives from around the state have stressed the connection between higher education and a prosperous economy.
In light of recent budget cuts to the university, campus officials announced Tuesday they plan to use flexibility granted to UW-Madison in the state?s 2011-13 budget to restructure human resources at the university. UW-Madison director of human resources Bob Lavigna said the project aims to better incorporate and manage talent at the university.
UW System leaders spoke against additional system-wide funding cuts at a Senate committee meeting Tuesday. The one-time cuts, meant to address lapses in the current state budget, will increase existing gaps in higher education funding by an additional $65.8 million over the next two years, cutting $18 million from UW-Madison alone.
The UW-Madison Academic Staff Assembly passed a resolution Monday calling recent budget cuts to the UW System too large. In October state legislators announced $65.7 million in cuts to the UW System to make up for a lapse of expected state revenue. The UW System accounts for 38 percent of total cuts included in the state?s lapse. About $25 million of these cuts will go to UW-Madison over the next two years.
The UW-Madison Faculty Senate passed a resolution officially addressing recent budget cuts to the UW System Monday. The legislation asks the governor and the Wisconsin State Legislature to reduce the UW System?s portion of budget cuts to a more proportional level and ?renew the state?s investment in education.?
To make up a more than $700,000 loss in support, the University of Wisconsin-Superior is making some difficult decisions.
New cuts to the UW System place an unfair burden on higher education in the state, and Gov. Scott Walker?s administration should distribute it more proportionally among agencies.
Dear Editor: Why are the GOP politicians so set on destroying the University of Wisconsin when they benefited so much from it? The current plan imposes a 38 percent cut on a state asset that consumes only 7 percent of resources. Nobody seriously disputes that the UW System should share the impacts in revenue shortfalls for the coming biennium. Yet why impose so grotesque a burden? The UW System has been attacked by the governor and other GOP stalwarts with the attempt to strip away the flagship campus.
The year-in-review stories are nearly two months away, but I think we can already recap state politics in 2011 as Wisconsin?s “annus horribilis,” which translates to “horrible year.” The Latin isn’t mine. Todd Berry, president of the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance, used “Wisconsin’s annus horribilis” as his title to put the state budget in context in a recent lecture to retired UW-Madison employees.
….And Walker has taken a meat cleaver to the University of Wisconsin System, most recently by imposing, without explanation, a disproportionate share of “lapse” budget reductions to the campuses. He also socked it to cities on shared-revenue payments and has proposed major reductions in health care coverage.
A proposal made by the governor would freeze the wages of public workers in the state for the next two years.
Gov. Scott Walker is proposing a two-year pay freeze for all public employees as part of the first compensation plan put forward after a law was enacted that no longer requires the state to negotiate wages with unions.
There is no end to the mean spiritedness of the people in charge of Wisconsin government these days. Late last week when the University of Wisconsin System got the news that it was going to suffer another nearly $66 million cut on top of the already $250 million taken away by the GOP?s budget last summer, the Democratic members of the Assembly Colleges and Universities Committee asked that a meeting be convened to examine the cut.
For over 100 years the Wisconsin promise has been guided by the Wisconsin Idea. The recent announcement of $66 million in additional cuts to the University of Wisconsin System will have a devastating impact on higher education and replace the Wisconsin Idea with the Walker nightmare. The University makes up 7 percent of the state budget yet will be required to take 38 percent of the cuts. These cuts will reduce Wisconsin UW budget to the level we spent in 1999 and are irrational, unfair and harmful to our next generation. It is apparent that the Walker Administration simply does not understand the importance of higher education to Wisconsin?s economy and future.
UW System chancellors say they?re dismayed by what they call a disproportionate amount of budget lapse cuts called for by the Walker Administration. UW schools have till November 7 to figure out how to cut millions from their budgets. In a memo, Department of Administration Secretary Mike Huebsch states agencies were told to plan for $174 million in cuts from a lapse in the current state budget. Of that, $65 million or around 38-percent of that would come from the University of Wisconsin System.
The Republican chairman of the Assembly Colleges and Universities Committee said he doesn?t plan to hold a hearing on a $65.8 million cut to the UW System, despite a request from Democratic members of the committee. A spokesman for Rep. Steve Nass, R-Whitewater, said he “doesn?t see a need for a hearing” because the state budget included the potential for one-time cuts.
OSHKOSH – University of Wisconsin system leaders said Wednesday they?ve been blindsided by additional budget changes.
University of Wisconsin System leaders appear to be scrambling after learning their cut in state taxpayer support over the 2011-13 biennium will be significantly deeper than anticipated. Gov. Scott Walker?s 2011-13 biennial budget, which was signed into law over the summer, reduces state support for the UW System by $250 million. While that blow was significant ? tying the record cut of $250 million to the UW System by former Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle over the 2003-05 biennium ? it now appears the hit will jump by at least another $65.7 million over the next two years.
University of Wisconsin System officials were surprised to learn they have to make additional budget cuts.
“The question will be for the average person in Wisconsin?s hinterlands, did the things that Scott Walker did offer more good than bad?” asks Barry Burden, a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor of political science and an expert in campaigns and elections. “Nobody will like everything that happened, but are you happier that your taxes didn?t go up and that we managed to balance the budget than you are unhappy about cuts to K through 12 education, the UW System and health care, and changes to collective bargaining?” Burden says “I think that is going to be the litmus test for the recall.”
In his first State of the University address in more than a decade, David Ward sounded the alarm about the funding crisis in public higher education. It?s a safe bet no one in Bascom Hall listening to UW-Madison?s interim chancellor speak to the Faculty Senate on Oct. 3 was surprised to hear the university is facing some significant budgetary challenges. Most are keenly aware the university is being asked to absorb $94 million in state cuts over the next two years. What might have caught some off guard was Ward?s message that the university can no longer afford to simply hunker down and attempt to weather the economic storm until better days return.
* State leaders have named all but one of a 17-member committee charged with reviewing the University of Wisconsin System’s governance structure. Gov. Scott Walker on Monday announced his two appointments: Dave Olien, senior vice president emeritus of the UW System, and Darrell Bazzell, vice chancellor for administration at UW-Madison.
* UW-Madison is rising through the ranks of higher education social media influence, according to Klout.com.The website recently ranked UW-Madison as the second most influential behind Texas A&M. That?s up from fourth in January. Marquette University ranks 10th, making Wisconsin the only state with two universities in the top 10.
The roster for the state-appointed “Special Task Force on UW Restructuring and Operational Flexibilities” is finally set. Gov. Scott Walker announced his two appointments on Monday, completing the 17-member panel. One of Walker?s selections was Darrell Bazzell, UW-Madison?s vice chancellor for administration. Bazzell is the only person currently working on the UW-Madison campus on the panel. Walker?s other appointment went to Dave Olien, senior vice president emeritus of the UW System.
Six months after Gov. Scott Walker and Republican legislators required state workers to pay more for health care and pensions, what are those changes costing those workers?Depending on their pay, between $2,828 and $8,428 more a year, according to a recent Legislative Fiscal Bureau report requested by three Madison-area legislators who each represent thousands of state workers.
The state must reinvest in its universities to meet ambitious goals of boosting its number of college graduates, University of Wisconsin System President Kevin Reilly said Thursday.
Just last year, the UW System set its sights on increasing the number of college-degree holders in the state by 30% over the next 15 years – a cumulative increase of 80,000 degree holders by 2025 – in an effort to lure companies and boost Wisconsin?s economy. But then state funding for the UW System was cut $250 million for the 2011-?13 fiscal years.
Gov. Scott Walker considered cutting the pay of all public workers at the same time he was crafting his budget proposal that forced them to contribute more for their pension and health care benefits, an email obtained by The Associated Press under the state?s open records law shows. The email, sent Dec. 8 by policy director Ryan Murray, also asks the budget director how much could be saved through the maximum allowable eligibility and benefit cuts to Medicaid.U ltimately, Walker didn?t call for a pay cut as part of his budget that required public workers to pay 12.4 percent of their health care benefits and 5.8 percent of their pensions. In fact, when rolling out his plan, Walker attempted to sell it by noting that he wasn?t cutting salaries, imposing any furlough days or calling for layoffs.
Although the state Legislature axed a plan to split UW-Madison from the University of Wisconsin System from the state budget, it called for the creation of a “Special Task Force” to study the UW System. Only one public appointment has been made to the 17-member task force. A bill has been introduced to delay the due date of the task force?s findings from Jan. 1, 2012, to Jan. 7, 2013.
The UW-Madison Employee Assistance Office is offering three, free sessions entitled, “Financial Strategies When Your Income Drops.” Presented by Deb Neubauer, of the UW-Extension Financial Education Center, she will offer strategies on goal-setting, new spending plans, and re-evaluating your financial situation.
The University of Wisconsin regents agreed Thursday to shift certain powers from the UW System to its 26 campuses, a move made necessary by budget cuts and staff layoffs. The Board of Regents passed a pair of proposals by unanimous voice vote. The first allowed the campuses to take on some of the oversight authority currently provided by the UW System. The other offered a plan for staff downsizing in response to a $2.46 million budget cut for the UW System Administration.
The UW Board of Regents approved two proposals Thursday that will help University of Wisconsin System administration cut its budget by shifting power to individual campuses. Regent President Michael Spector called it “the most significant restructuring in the 40 years since the System itself was formed.”
The University of Wisconsin System can help absorb millions of dollars in budget cuts by transferring some of its authority to its 26 campuses and chancellors, according to a recent report commissioned by the UW System president. The UW System must reduce its operating budget by $2.4 million per year and cut 51 full-time positions under Gov. Scott Walker?s two-year state budget. In response, UW System President Kevin Reilly asked a committee to advise him on how to deal with the cuts. The report?s authors responded by suggesting a fundamental shift _ distributing power from the UW System out to the campuses, according to a Wisconsin State Journal report.
UW System administration should relax its grip on the 26 University of Wisconsin campuses and give individual chancellors more authority, according to a new report. The recommendations are in large part motivated by necessity: UW System must reduce its operating budget by $2.4 million a year and eliminate 51 full-time positions under Gov. Scott Walker?s two-year state budget. The report is the result of a committee that UW System President Kevin Reilly convened to evaluate the role of UW System and advise him on how to make those cuts. The committee included campus representatives and members of the UW Board of Regents. The report?s authors describe the need for a fundamental shift from a centralized model to one that distributes more power to the campuses.
When students return Thursday for the first day of school across Wisconsin, many familiar faces will be gone, as teachers chose retirement over coming back in the wake of a new law that forces them to pay more for benefits while taking away most of their collective bargaining rights. Documents obtained by The Associated Press under the state?s open records law show that about twice as many public school teachers decided to hang it up in the first half of this year as in each of the past two full years, part of a mass exit of public employees. Teachers weren?t the only ones heading for the exits. State agency retirements were particularly dramatic, nearly tripling from 747 in all of 2010 to 1,966 through June. Retirements from the University of Wisconsin System more than doubled, up from 480 last year to 1,091 this year. All told, 9,933 public workers had retired by the end of June, a 93 percent increase from 5,133 in 2010. The year before, there were 4,876 retirements.
Six months after some UW Health doctors wrote questionable sick notes for protesters rallying against Gov. Scott Walker?s proposal to limit public sector collective bargaining, UW-Madison hasn?t finished disciplining the doctors.
As union members proclaim “solidarity,” the state?s new law prohibiting collective bargaining is hitting public employee pocketbooks this week. The state started making payroll deductions for pensions and health insurance for tens of thousands of employees Thursday, and some municipalities and school districts will do so for more employees on Friday. Most state employees, except State Patrol troopers and inspectors, began paying 5.8 percent of their earnings for their pensions. They?re also paying 12.6 percent of health care premiums. Sandy Rindy, a union member who has worked at UW-Madison for 30 years, most of it as a payroll and benefit specialist, said deductions will have a real impact, especially for those living paycheck to paycheck and single parents struggling with day care and health care costs.
Members of the Teaching Assistants Association representing University of Wisconsin-Madison graduate students and its UW-Milwaukee counterpart voted by undisclosed margins not to seek a formal election to keep their official status with the state, top leaders for the two groups said.
Citing high costs, sluggish Internet speeds on public computers and limited bandwidth for researchers, University of Wisconsin System officials are building a $37 million high-speed Internet network across the state ? a web of fiber stretching from Wausau to Superior. But a legal challenge is raising questions about the need and appropriateness of that effort. The telecommunications industry is suing to stop the project, arguing it not only violates state law, but it?s duplicative and a waste of public resources.
The 3,000-member teaching assistants union at UW-Madison has voted narrowly against seeking official state certification under a controversial new law that prohibits most collective bargaining for most public sector employees. Under the law signed by Republican Gov. Scott Walker, teachers and other public workers would need to vote for their unions each year in order to bargain for cost-of-living raises. The law no longer allows negotiations on working conditions, benefits or anything else.
Control of the state Senate – now up for grabs in recall elections – could affect issues ranging from a possible voucher school expansion in Green Bay to proposed cuts in state health care programs serving more than 1 million Wisconsin residents.
But the recall elections won?t immediately affect the issue that gave rise to them – union bargaining by public workers, legislative leaders said.
That?s because Gov. Scott Walker and his fellow Republicans who control the Assembly would ensure that the controversial repeal of most collective bargaining remains in place through this year, even if Democrats do manage to take back the Senate.
The Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance broke down the $64.3 billion state budget, which the Republican governor signed into law in late June. Among its findings, the nonprofit research group calculated a 3.8 percent cut in state support for the University of Wisconsin System.
UW System president Kevin Reilly is talking about what $340-million in state budget cuts will mean to the system. UW System president Kevin Reilly says that the cuts for the 2011-2013 biennium will have a big impact on individual campuses.
