UW System seeks $110M for virus precautions
Funds would go to PPE and COVID-19 testing
The University of Wisconsin System has asked the governor for $110 million to fund COVID-19 testing and personal protective equipment, as campuses look to open this fall and the number of coronavirus cases in Wisconsin continues to rise.
In a call with reporters Thursday, as the state hit its highest single-day for confirmed COVID-19 cases, Interim System President Tommy Thompson said campuses are still planning to open for in-person instruction this fall.
If they do, there would be a mask mandate on all campuses, which was approved Thursday by the Board of Regents.
The mandate had the support of Thompson and campus chancellors, many of whom asked the regents for it during their last meeting, to back up campus-level requirements.
The $110 million request is awaiting more information from the UW System on what the money would be used for and clarity on how $100 million in federal funding already received has been used.
Thompson told reporters the $110 million would be split between paying for testing and PPE.
“I know a lot of students like me, from small communities like me, from small communities ... and all over the state really want to come back to campus,” Thompson said. “I’m going to do everything I possibly can to make it as safe as I possibly can for the faculty, the instructors, the employees and above all the students.”
Later Thursday, he told the UW Board of Regents he is soliciting bids from local hospitals and health care providers to provide testing to campuses on a regional basis. One possibility includes setting up testing trailers at UW-Platteville, UW-Stevens Point, UW-Stout and UW-Whitewater if they lack the infrastructure and staff to do that themselves.
Thompson also raised the possibility of the system receiving some additional funding from the federal government, referencing a conversation he had with U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tennessee, about a forthcoming bipartisan package of funding proposals tallying $11 billion.
Testing availability would be determined by how much money is available, Thompson said.
The new request to Gov. Tony Evers follows up on a June 26 letter from UW System President Ray Cross to the
governor that had asked for $135 million: $60 million for testing, $50 million for PPE and $25 million for IT investments related to remote learning and more.
The request Thompson discussed Thursday does not include IT funding.
From paying out refunds for roomand-board last spring, to revenue losses across virtually every campus revenue stream, a $40 million payback to the state and investments in preparing for the fall, UW campuses say they’re facing unprecedented financial strain.
The losses have been offset by government relief funding, including $19 million from Evers in June, as well as employee furloughs and other cost-saving measures.
Still, with shaky enrollment numbers and uncertainty around future budget allocations, UW System schools remain concerned.
Last week, UW-Milwaukee Chancellor Mark Mone said the campus is estimating a $15 million loss in the 2020 fiscal year and between $35 million to $40 million in losses in the coming year without cost-cutting measures, in part because of a projected 8% to 9% enrollment drop this fall and estimated declines in state funding.
“Equivalent to 10% of UWM’s total annual expenses, this projected loss would be the largest negative one-year impact of any year in UWM’s known history,” Mone said.
For many campuses, reopening will be crucial to that plan, which would curb the losses that would result from empty dorms, dining halls and sports events.
Planning has been further complicated by a rule issued this week by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which requires international students on F1 visas to take in-person classes if they want to stay in the country.
Thompson said he doesn’t anticipate the UW system joining a lawsuit by Harvard and MIT against the rule because the system appears to be exempt because it has a hybrid online/in-person model for classes this fall.
Asked if it appears that international students would be forced to leave if COVID-19 cases spike and campuses move entirely online, Thompson said UW lawyers think students would still be exempt.
ICE declined a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel interview request Thursday citing the pending lawsuit. But a spokesperson told the Wisconsin State Journal on Wednesday that a shift to online-only classes would require international students to leave the U.S. or transfer to a school that has in-person options.
The board of regents on Thursday also unanimously passed a resolution with a number of guidelines to reopening, including the mandate on masks.
Draft guidelines released by the UW System included a recommendation that people wear masks indoors and in situations in which they cannot practice social distancing but left the determination on requirements up to the campuses.
“I think it’s absolutely imperative that (to open campuses) we need to have this policy in place,” Thompson said.