State budget deficit will likely affect UW-L

The budget situation in Madison is tense as the government struggles to face a $652 million deficit. Unfortunately, UW-L may have to help deal with this shortage. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Governor Doyle spoke to a business group about the issue. "Everyone may have to share in this a little bit to get this done. The university is going to have to participate with other state agencies and get a little more efficient and be part of the answer," Doyle said. UW La Crosse, Chief Financial Officer, Vice Chancellor Bob Hetzel said the amount of the financial burden UW-L will have to bear has not been determined. "We know there is going to be a lapse," Hetzel said. "That is a one time cut and it could be as high as a million dollars, but it's not permanent." Chancellor Joe Gow is very concerned by the possibility of losing faculty. "The challenge is 85-90% of the budget is in salaries of people who work here," Gow said. "The big money is in people and we really don't want to let people go." However, because of the Growth, Quality, and Access Agenda, the University is still planning on adding faculty this fall, Hetzel said. The Growth, Quality, and Access Agenda was approved last December to increase incoming student's tuition in order to higher new faculty, Gow explained. "What would be unfortunate is if we have to cut faculty on one end because of the state budget, but then add back with Growth, Quality, and Access," Gow said. "We won't make the gains we wanted to result from that program." According to Hetzel, the University is still hoping to add 14 faculty and 4 staff positions. "If we have adjustments to make we are hoping that doesn't impact quality," Hetzel said. "I have to be realistic, it may have some impact, but we're going to try and lessen that as much as possible." The most concerning thing is UW-L may have to give back some of the money the system provided for the Growth Agenda, Gow said. This money was supposed to be used to offer financial aid for new students. UWL had a request for another $400 thousand in front of the state legislature to add to the original $225 thousand provided for financial aid, Hetzel said. "Right now, in Madison, there is some controversy about that money and we're trying to make sure we get all of it and get it to the students for next year," Gow said. "At this point our request has been referred back to the Joint Finance Committee," Hetzel added. "That was very disappointing news for us because we were very hopeful that we would have legislative support." While the Growth Agenda may suffer, UW-L does not need to worry about the new academic building, stadium, and residence halls, Hetzel explained. "People may ask how can you be building a $44 million academic building but we're going to have to make some adjustments in our programs?" Hetzel said. "It's because they are a different set of funds." The current state budget deficit affects the operational budget, which includes student support, instruction, and institutional support. However, the capital budget will not be affected and that includes the new academic building, stadium, and residence halls, Hetzel said. "We may have less money for building in future years, but the current projects are in very good shape," Hetzel added. According to Hetzel, the Joint Planning and Budget committee has not talked about specific areas for program reduction because they still do not know how much money will be cut. "This is very hard for a school like ours because we're so efficient right now," Gow said.Because the final numbers are unknown, Hetzel said all the campus can do right now is to start thinking about where they would make a cut if it comes to that. "When we look at what program needs to be adjusted, we have to look at what is the level of priority and how does it fit in the mission," Hetzel said. This is the result of depending on the State for money Gow explained. He added that no one likes increases in tuition, but tuition money is guaranteed and that lets students know that adequate faculty and staff will be provided. "I think I'd rather pay more in tuition, knowing we're going to get the quality, than to pay less and have it be uncertain and subject to economics and politics," Gow said. According to Gow, tuition will probably not increase in the near future, however it is likely to happen eventually. "We want to be very open with the campus and let people know what is going on," Hetzel said. "We don't want to have surprises." The Governor should be presenting his "Repair Bill" this week, which will give the university a better idea of the budget status. "I hope people will be patient and they'll understand there's only so much we can control and we're really doing the best that we can to make sure students' best interests are protected," Gow concluded.

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