Some Republicans not supporting Governor's UW plan

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MADISON - Some more Republican legislators are backing away from Governor Scott Walker’s plan to split UW-Madison from the rest of the university system.

State Assembly Colleges Committee chairman Steve Nass of Whitewater has asked the Joint Finance panel to drop the measure from the proposed state budget. Nass promised to help set up committees to draft a bill giving more flexibility to all UW campuses starting in July of next year.

Madison chancellor Biddy Martin has argued for more than a year that her campus needs more flexibility from the state bureaucracy. And Walker agreed when he put the plan in his budget for the next two years. Martin says she’s trying to off-set budget cuts by being more efficient. But her plan allows the school to set its own tuition with the blessing of its own board set up by the governor – and some lawmakers fear that tuition will rise out-of-sight. Meanwhile, the UW Board of Regents is getting behind the idea of giving all 26 campuses more flexibility. Chancellors have asked for that as well. Finance Co-chair Robin Vos (R-Burlington) has said he doubts the Madison break-off will be approved. He said the issue is too big to consider in a single two-year budget period.

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