PROFS will host a forum to discuss Governor Tony Ever’s 2019-21 state budget proposal at noon, Tuesday, April 2 in Room 159 Education (1000 Bascom Mall) This event is free and open to the public and refreshments will be served.
The panel includes:
- State Representative Dave Murphy (R-Greenville), Chair, Assembly Colleges and Universities Committee
- State Representative Katrina Shankland (D-Stevens Point), former Joint Finance Committee member
- Jeff Buhrandt, Senior Director for State Relations, UW System
- Nicholas Hillman, Educational Leadership & Policy Analysis professor, UW-Madison
The governor’s higher education budget includes increases of $44.7 million in FY20 and $66 million in FY21 and a 2% pay plan for UW System employees, including UW-Madison faculty. Additional details:
- $45 million for capacity building initiatives
- $5 million for UW Colleges student support services
- 2-year tuition freeze, including $50.4 million to fund the freeze
- $10 million for a nurse educators program
- $17.4 million for Wisconsin Grants, a need-based grant program for Wisconsin students
- $3.5 million and 20 FTE for UW Extension agriculture representatives
- $500,000 for environmental education at UW-Stevens Point
- $18 million for a general increase to the Wisconsin Technical College System
- Resident tuition for undocumented Wisconsin residents
The state budget process is a months-long process that stretches into summer and often into autumn. The Joint Finance Committee and both houses of the Republican-led state legislature must approve the plan before it is returned to the governor for his vetoes and final approval.
Event cosponsors: The Wisconsin Center for the Advancement of Postsecondary Education (WISCAPE), Academic Staff Professionals Representation Organization (ASPRO), and the Wisconsin Alumni Association.