Potential budget reductions are a hot topic on campus, and many expect Governor-elect Scott Walker to cut the University of Wisconsin System budget.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel fact-checking arm, PolitiFact Wisconsin, has found that while Walker used an ominous tone in his remarks to the UW System Board of Regents on November 4, he did not use the word “cuts,” and never said the university must do more with less. Instead Walker said “It isn’t just always about more money. It’s going to be about finding ways to take the dollars we have and find new ways — with flexibility, innovation and creativity — to apply those dollars in the best way possible to meet those goals campus-by-campus across the state.”
PolitiFact does go on to show how even a small increase to the System budget could be interpreted as a cut. The university considers a 2-percent cost-to-continue increase as a starting point for its budget and has requested additional funds on top of that. Any increase smaller than 2 percent would be considered a cut.
More information about the 2011-13 budget is expected in January.