Rep. Chris Taylor, 608-266-5342

MADISON – Today, the UW Board of Regents will consider UW System’s 2019-21 budget proposal. In response to the proposal, Rep. Chris Taylor (D-Madison) released the following statement:

“It’s incredible to me that my Republican colleagues have continued to starve our UW System when new research indicates that investing in the UW reaps a 23-1 return on investment. These are the same people who are willing to hand over $3 billion in taxpayer money to a foreign corporation based on essentially no evidence that the jobs promised have any realistic chance of ever being created.

“Unfortunately, Wisconsin Republicans and most UW Regents appear to be totally disconnected to the reality being experienced by UW campuses after years of inadequate funding and deep cuts. To be clear, we have campuses that aren’t able to hire adequate faculty or cover even basic maintenance expenses. Meeting these basic needs should be the focus of the budget proposal, not tying funding to ineffective performance based metrics that research shows does not impact outcomes.

“It’s equally inexplicable that this budget request doesn’t call for additional dollars to be put directly towards funding the continued proposed tuition freeze. This is an unsustainable path that will continue to affect the quality of education our students receive. We have the money to make this investment, and it should be a priority.”

Print Friendly, PDF & Email