Even without Gov Dropout, WisGOP will keep trying to mess up the UW

I'd be lying if I said I was surprised about today's decisions on the University of Wisconsin System by the GOP-run Joint Finance Committee. But it's still something that makes me roll my eyes.

The Republican-controlled budget writing committee approved a tuition freeze for undergraduate residents attending University of Wisconsin campuses over the next two academic years.

But the Joint Finance Committee again declined to "fund the freeze" and provide the UW System with state money to offset what campuses lose in inflationary tuition raises.

Overall, the GOP motion — approved 12-4 along party lines — would provide $69.7 million less in state aid that the $126.6 million the guv had proposed. Republicans also want to require the university to come back to the committee with a plan on how it would spend the bulk of the money Republicans want to allocate to UW before it would be released.

So basically, the GOP voted to continue to starve the UW of resources some more, which continues the cycle of cuts and deterioration that started with the 8 year Reign of Error of college dropout Scott Walker.

In addition to not funding the tuition freeze, the GOPs on Joint Finance also turned down budget provisions by Evers that were intended to close the salary and talent gaps that have widened in Wisconsin, both on and off campus.

Along with rejection the guv’s call to increase aid to offset the tuition freeze, the GOP motion would reject $45 million for student success and attainment — including expenses such as advising to help students graduate quicker — and $10 million to increase the number of nurse educators to help address the nursing shortage in Wisconsin.

JFC Republicans also rejected Evers’ call for an additional $5 million for UW Colleges to cover student support services such as advising and $3.5 million over the biennium to add 20 county-based agriculture positions at UW Extension schools. As of this month, there were 57.4 full-time equivalent agricultural educators working in 65 of the state’s 72 counties, according to LFB.

There is one small consolation in today's budget action, in that the Legislative Fiscal Bureau announced that the UW System would have more money to play with in another way - via higher tuition revenues that have been gathered from out of state students and other specialized programs since 2016.

Added tuition revenues, each year UW 2019-21
Increased nonresident and graduate tuition +$40.74 million
Enrollment Changes +$39.24 million
Self-supporting Programs $14.23 million
Differential tuition changes -$0.71 million
TOTAL $93.50 MILLION A YEAR

This supplements a recent report by the Legislative Audit Bureau which illustrated the UW's increasing reliance on out-of-state enrollees.

From academic year 2008-09 to academic year 2017-18, UW institutions experienced increases in nonresident enrollment. UW-Madison had the largest total increase in nonresident students with an additional 3,304 students over the 10-year period. Five institutions—UW-Milwaukee, UW-Eau Claire, UW-Green Bay, UW-Oshkosh, and UW-Whitewater—more than doubled their nonresident enrollments. For example, UW-Milwaukee nonresident enrollment increased from 1,991 nonresident students in academic year 2008-09 to 4,090 nonresident students in academic year 2017-18, or by 105.4 percent.

Remarkably, in-state tuition revenue has dropped across the UW System while the freeze has been in effect. And even with the added out-of-staters, it is only due to the added tuition funds at UW-Madison that this extra tuition money exists for the rest of the System, because most other UW schools have been losing tuition money.

It could be argued that the System can use those extra tuition dollars to replace the money not funded by taxpayers due to the GOP's decisions today. But that's a dangerous game to rely on for the future, and it reiterates my thought that UW-Madison should be given independence from the rest of the System due its unique offerings and ability to raise its own money.

Back at the Capitol today, UW System President Ray Cross was surprised and dismayed by the GOP's decision not to give the UW most of the money it requested, and vented to reporters.

Cross said he was stunned by today's vote.

He said Republicans who control the Legislature had spoken positively of the proposed budget up until Thursday. He said he didn't know why they changed course.

— Patrick Marley (@patrickdmarley) May 28, 2019

You're shocked by this, Ray? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? You've dealt with these idiots in the GOP Legislature for more than 5 years, while they all voted to cut UW funding, starved it of resources, and micromanaged it into dysfunction. You seriously thought this Koched-up crew would change their tune because we showed Gov Dropout the door and replaced him with a former teacher?

If Ray Cross honestly thought that, he needs to get the hell out of Bascom Hill and take his 6-figure, taxpayer-funded salary with him. These GOP jerkoffs will never act in good faith toward something like the UW that encourages critical thinking and independent analysis. Those skills and products are threats to their survival in their phoney-baloney jobs at the Capitol.

I can't say this enough - WisGOPs don't want this state to get better under Evers over the next 4 years, and certainly don't want to have their rich and corporate donors pay toward things that might help someone outside of their Club. Improving the UW and attracting more talent to this state would do these things, so it explains why the WisGOPs on JFC wouldn't fund the UW, and also refused to make investments to improve water quality and bring back science to the DNR today.

As Ray Cross found out, the only way things will get better for the special things in Wisconsin is to remove the WisGOP legislators that are intent on messing them up. Playing nice and trying to explain the value of gems like the UW and the state's natural beauty won't work on the ALEC Crew.