UW chancellors push back on GOP legislators claiming universities don't need state money

Legislative leaders in Wisconsin have recoiled at a number of proposals in Gov. Tony Evers’ proposed budget on the grounds that more spending isn’t necessary in areas — ranging from expanding broadband access to higher education spending — that will be boosted by federal money coming from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).

On Thursday, two UW System chancellors pushed back on that claim, saying the ARPA money isn’t even enough to fill the COVID-sized hole in their finances, much less provide the investment in the state’s public education system that they say is required.

At a virtual event hosted by WisPolitics and the Milwaukee Press Club, UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank and UW-Milwaukee Chancellor Mark Mone said the federal money can’t be spent on items such as faculty salaries and half of the relief dollars need to go toward emergency aid for students.

“I think that’s just a complete misunderstanding of the federal dollars that are coming to higher education,” Blank said. “So we’re getting dollars that are very specifically constrained, they must be spent on costs that were related to COVID.”

Read more: https://wisconsinexaminer.com/2021/04/23/uw-chancellors-push-back-on-gop-legislators-claiming-universities-dont-need-state-money/