Walker proposes less aid for UW System

Following revelations that the University of Wisconsin System had a previously unknown cash reserve of hundreds of millions of dollars, Gov. Scott Walker announced he plans to slash the proposed budget increase for the system by $94 million. Walker had earlier promised to send $181 million UW’s way, but recent developments prompted him to reconsider that sum and to propose that the system be required to freeze tuition for two years.

Department of Administration Secretary Mike Huebsch wrote in a letter to the Legislature’s budget committee, “The Walker administration is saddened that the UW System did not show leadership during a fiscal crisis and instead made the burden of public higher education heavier while stockpiling cash.”

A UW System statement said system campuses would be able to absorb the cuts in expected revenue, and UW System President Kevin Reilly said the tuition freeze “will send the right message to Wisconsin students and families.”