UW System budget has GOP-driven priorities

Schools’ $6.3B proposal seeks new funding

The University of Wisconsin System’s proposed $6.3 billion operating budget for the next two fiscal years reads like a page out of the GOP state lawmakers’ playbook.

Republican lawmakers for years have been pushing an economic, jobfocused, student success accountability agenda for the UW System in exchange for taxpayer dollars.

The request the UW System will put forward for $107.5 million in new state funding over the next two years — $82.5 million in “outcomes-based” funding and $25 million to expand programs mostly in STEM and highdemand fields — is framed around

“university and statutorily required goals.”

Key phrases repeated throughout the 68-page budget document: student success, workforce development and operational efficiencies — phrases that are practical and, many would say, in line with the direction higher education needs to go.

Others worry about who is setting the agenda — UW System’s leaders who are trained in higher education or lawmakers, who control the purse strings.

“There’s lots of subliminal and non-subliminal messages in this for the governor’s campaign,” said Rep. Terese Berceau (D-Madison), a state lawmaker since 1998 and a member of the Legislature’s Committee on Colleges and Universities.

“I see a campaign document: ‘We’re going to make the university work harder to create jobs,’ as if the university hasn’t already been doing that ...”

Berceau said the UW System operates with an underlying fear of being punished by lawmakers if its message and focus aren’t on-point.

“It’s become autocratic; Republican lawmakers tell the university what to do.”

All current members of the UW System Board of Regents, except for two exofficio members, were appointed by Gov. Scott Walker.

Economic impact touted

The 2019-21 budget points to a study that says the UW System contributes $24 billion to the state’s economy each year,” which reflects a 23-fold return on each dollar Wisconsin invests in the university.”

The UW System’s budget, which the Board of Regents will consider during a meeting in Madison on Thursday, asks for authority to plan and design five major building projects related to the fields of health and STEM, or science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Those projects include a science and technology innovation center at UWRiver Falls, a science and health building at UW-Eau Claire, an engineering building expansion at UW-Milwaukee, an engineering building at UW-Madison, and an academic building addition and renovation at UW-Whitewater.

Altogether, the UW System is seeking $888,888,888 (almost $1 billion) in borrowing for new buildings or to repair, renovate and/or replace aging buildings on campuses.

Average cost of attendance will still increase this fall by 1% for resident freshmen because of increases in fees and room and board.

While the state recently provided 4.04% pay increases for UW System employees over two years, state funding for the UW System as a whole has declined significantly over the past 11 years.

That decrease, along with a six-year tuition freeze, has limited UW’s ability to expand or create programming, UW officials have repeatedly said.

Building, fixing and remodeling campuses

The capital budget request includes $463.9 million in bonding authority to renovate, expand and replace six academic facilities and five utility and central plant projects around the UW System.

Another $300 million would go into existing buildings with high-priority maintenance, repair and renovation needs.

The UW System is asking for an adjustment of the borrowing terms of four major new buildings already in the planning stages. By shifting from a traditional 20-year borrowing period to 30 years, it would reduce the cost to students by lowering their fees and extending the financing over a longer time frame.

Those buildings include a new residence hall and a fieldhouse for sports at UW-La Crosse; replacement of the natatorium/gymnasium at UW-Madison; and a new student health and wellness facility at UW-Stevens Point.