By Benjamin Yount | The Center Square contributor
(The Center Square) – It’s not that Republican lawmakers don’t want to give the University of Wisconsin any more money, one legislator says the problem is the university is reluctant to tell the legislature where the money it currently gets is being spent.
Rep. Amanda Nedweski, R-Pleasant Prairie, was on News Talk 1130 WISN Wednesday, and said the UW System is likely not getting more money until school leaders improve their relationship with the legislature.
“It’s hard to be confident in institutions that are seeming so reluctant to share simple information with the legislature,” Nedweski said. “I mean, the lack of transparency and accountability shown by the system in the last two decades has resulted in so much distrust between the legislature, the system and the taxpayer.”
University President Jay Rothman earlier this week announced plans to ask the legislature for $914 million in the next state budget.
Rothman said the UW needs the money to cover the costs of pay raises, to provide wrap-around support for students and to avoid a tuition increase.
Nedweski said it’s a hard sell to say that every taxpayer in Wisconsin should subsidize all of the university’s programs.
“The taxpayer doesn’t want to bear the burden for the cost of everyone’s education after K12,” Nedweski added. “We want to say things like ‘If you can’t figure out why you’re losing students, why would we give you more money?’.”
University regents are set to vote on Rothman’s funding increase Thursday, and the plan would then go to Gov. Tony Evers, and eventually to lawmakers during next year’s budget hearings.
Nedweski said there is plenty of support among lawmakers for the University of Wisconsin, particularly research projects at UW-Madison.
But she said Republican lawmakers want to see some reforms, and a new plan for the UW’s future before simply writing bigger taxpayer checks.
“I see an absolute need for increased transparency and increased accountability to the taxpayer,” Nedweski said. “Until we see that, there’s going to be a lot of push back.”
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