Governorâs budget designed to help the university ‘bounce back’
Calling higher education an economic driver for Wisconsin, Governor Tony Evers proposed a major reinvestment in the University of Wisconsin System.
Evers unveiled his proposed 2021-23 biennial state budget on Tuesday evening, recommending an additional $191 million in funding for the UW System. Breaking a decades-long trend, the budget calls for spending more on colleges than prisons.
In addition to covering ongoing costs for current UW System operations, the governor would provide an additional $40 million in flexible block grant funding to the Board of Regents. Although the budget would extend the current tuition freeze for two years, it would provide $50 million in new funding to offset that lost revenue. The budget earmarks $2 million for additional positions at UW Extension and UWâMadisonâs College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, and recommends enough funding to support 2% annual pay increases for all faculty and staff.