More big cuts are being planned by the Joint Finance Committee!!

Behind the scenes plans are being made to blast us with another huge budget cut! Write your legislators this weekend! The letter below is from the Director of University Relations at UW-Milwaukee.

What a disaster is the legislature in Wisconsin! But as the editorial in the Northwestern shows that people don't have a clue about what higher education is. All those in charge can see is lowering quality to save money. It is really going to bite this state in the rear--we might as well use the savings to pay moving expenses for our good young people and high-paying jobs now to end the pretense.


Dear friends,


After a long day and evening in Madison, at 8:00 p.m. last night, the Joint Finance Committee decided to delay the vote on the UW System budget until Tuesday (or possibly Wednesday) of next week.


Sources on the Joint Finance Committee tell us they are contemplating an additional $10 million in cuts to the UW System budget, targeted at administration, and a 3% tuition cap, which equals approximately another $70 million in cuts. In total, this $80 million potential cut is in addition to the Governor's proposed cut of $40 million, for a biennial total of approximately $120 million.


It's not too late to intervene. Please call members of the Joint Finance Committee, urging them not to approve further base budget cuts to the UW System budget, and to refrain from a tuition cap.


UWM-area legislators on the Joint Finance Committee are:
Senator Alberta Darling, Senator Lena Taylor, Senator Mary Lazich, Representative Scott Jensen, Representative Pedro Colon and Representative Jeff Stone. You can find their contact information here:
http://www.legis.state.wi.us/lfb/jfc/jfcmembership.html


Flood their offices with voice mails, emails and letters over this Memorial Day weekend (please use your personal email/phone). The JFC is likely to vote on our budget either Tuesday or Wednesday. Let's take advantage of this long weekend and let those members know they can't cut the UW System budget!


Thanks, everyone.


Karla Ashenhurst
Director, Government Relations