Well I don’t know about coming in like a wrecking ball, but Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker is definitely coming into the new year swinging – specifically at the University of Wisconsin Education System. The governor released a statement on Tuesday about his budget proposal, which included – of many things – cutting funding to UW schools by 150 million dollars over the biennial term, amounting to a total of 300 million dollars taken away from state education. This has caused many students, staff, faculty and parents alarm, especially after noticing the proposed 200 million dollars in state bonds being given for the construction of a new Bucks stadium. Priorities much?
According to the Budget in Brief, and interpreted by Doug Mell, Executive Director of Communications and External Relations at UW-Stout, Scott Walker’s proposed cut will “position the University of Wisconsin System to maximize its ability to remain a world leader in research and instruction by restructuring the system as an independent public authority with greater flexibility to manage compensation, human resources, procurement, capital projects and other areas. Greater independence will enhance the system’s potential to recruit top faculty and students, attract research funding and patent production, and better serve Wisconsin’s students, parents, communities and businesses.”
In an effort to ease minds, inform the public, and rally together, Chancellor Bob Meyer held a budget forum this Wednesday, February 4th, to discuss some of the bigger elements of this proposal, and to explain how he foresees Stout to be affected. You can watch the event for yourself here, or read on for the more memorable highlights.
So what does the esteemed Chancellor want us to know?
1. This is not final.
This proposal is still in the early stages of processing. Any number of things could happen before the legislators vote. “I’ve been trying to take deep, cleansing breaths, and I try to keep my heartrate down, so that we can be thoughtful with this moving forward.”
2. Stout’s estimated portion of the cut is approximately six million dollars.
If the cuts are spread evenly, proportionally to the amount of GPR we get from the state, our cut would be approximately six million dollars. The Chancellor and his team are gaining awareness that the system level may have some reserve funds. They are hearing that President Cross might be willing to take a part of those reserves to remedy the cut a little bit across the campuses. “We’re all in a different place with our reserves, and Stout is on the bottom end, with half of one percent of the total reserves in the system. There isn’t a whole lot of breathing room for us. So we’re hoping and praying that President Cross takes some of the reserves from the system level and applies them to reduce some of our cut here at Stout. We think that’s where he’s headed on his thinking for this.”
3. Walker is calling to extend the tuition freeze for UW undergraduate residents.
The proposal allows the Board of Regents the authority to set tuition rates for the UW System. Although this offers some leeway for others, the tuition freeze of the last biennium is to continue for undergraduate resident tuition. “That’s kind of bad news, as the Board of Regents is given back the authority to determine tuition, except for undergraduate residential tuition rates.
4. Staff would no longer be state employees, but public or municipal employees.
According to the Chancellor, these employees would still have access to Wisconsin retirement plans and state health benefits. It is unknown how this will affect sick leave conversion at this point, as Chancellor says this would have to be worked out. However, do not assume that benefit would be going away at this time, Chancellor warns.
5. Short term cost-cutting measures are being taken.
Although UW-Stout is not putting a halt on promotions already in the works at this time, they are reprioritizing travel and costly events to make sure we are saving as much money as possible in the months that they deliberate. “The terminology the system is using at this time is essential vs. nonessential. I’m not sure this is the best way to phrase it. It’s more like critical and absolutely critical. We want to avoid layoffs with this big cut. Anything we can do to save money is done so we don’t have to make any unnecessary layoffs. If this goes through, this will be the biggest cut that UW-Stout has sustained to date. President Ray Cross says that if you look back at the system’s budget for 1998, that’s about where we will be at. We’ve gone backwards a lot; it’s not what we’d like to hear.”
6. We can fight this.
Chancellor Meyer indicated that it is really important for us to speak with one voice. “We have a great story to tell. We have amazing programs here. And one of the big privileges I have is representing you externally. There is a true appreciation for what Stout does, in terms of economic devolopment and workforce development. It’s very sincere. We have, I think, a unique position in the state, and we need to leverage that. This is going to be significant. I’m not going to lie to you. But we can get through this together.”
How do we do that, you might ask? The Chancellor encourages any concerned citizens to reach out to our legislators. Share anecdotes and facts that support our system, and if you know any legislators personally, reach out to them too. It’s really important that we show them how much our education means to us. “You have free of speech rights, too. You should feel the same emotions that I do; I feel disappointed, angry and upset,” he states.
The Chancellor’s team also offers a budget feedback form for any suggestions anybody might have as to how to handle this situation. For more information and updates on Governor Walker’s proposal, please check out UW-Stout’s State Budget Webpage.