UW leaders: Quality at stake in budget debate
University leaders pledge to continue their effort to persuade lawmakers to provide the financial support and management flexibility necessary to keep the UW System a world-class institution.
The Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee narrowly rejected the governor’s proposed management flexibility for the UW System in a vote Tuesday, May 25. The committee, a joint group of senators and representatives, is reviewing the proposed 1999-2001 state budget before the full Assembly and Senate consider it.
The committee also reduced the student share of the Madison Initiative by $6.9 million to restore the traditional 65 tax money/35 tuition funding formula for new initiatives. As a result, Madison would receive $15 million in state tax money and $8.1 million in tuition for the Madison Initiative.
The committee also recommended requiring that money for competitive compensation be used solely for recruitment and retention and not for merit-based increases.
UW System President Katharine Lyall says the Joint Finance Committee’s reduction in funding for the Madison Initiative threatens the unique public-private partnership. The Madison Initiative was proposed as a way of leveraging more financial support critical to sustaining the university’s education and research missions.
At the same time, Lyall and Board of Regents President San Orr say they are open to making changes to the management proposal to give more comfort to lawmakers concerned about the regents’ accountability and rising student tuition rates. “But our objective remains clear,” Lyall says. “We must have tools to preserve this system as one of the state’s best assets and one of the best public university systems in the world.
“We are in a competitive world,” Lyall says. “If the UW System is to help this state compete economically, it’s time to modernize responsiveness and accountability in Wisconsin.”
After Joint Finance review, the budget must pass both houses of the Legislature and receive final approval by the governor, who can veto part or all of any of its provisions.
Related sources of information
For a summary of other budget changes that may affect UW–Madison:
http://www.news.wisc.edu/chancellor/staterelations/view.msql?get=jfcupdate
For the UW System’s 1999-2001 Special Budget Bulletin (an 18.3kb PDF file)
http://www.uwsa.edu/univ_rel/wibudget.pdf
For background on the Madison Initiative:
http://www.news.wisc.edu/chancellor/staterelations/view.msql?get=budgetrequest
For an earlier statement on the budget’s importance by System President Katharine Lyall:
http://www.uwsa.edu/univ_rel/releases/kclfin.htm
For details on the Joint Finance Committee procedures and members, and live audio feeds of committee debate:
http://www.legis.state.wi.us/lfb/jfc.html
For nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau analysis papers on each aspect of the UW System budget:
http://www.legis.state.wi.us/lfb/Budget Papers/May25index.htm