UW System public authority proposal dies in legislature

The co-chairs of the Wisconsin State Legislature's Joint Finance Committee have announced that Gov. Scott Walker's proposal to turn the UW System into a public authority will not be passed this year.

Debate will continue on Walker's plan to cut $300 million from the UW System, a measure that 70 percent of Wisconsinites oppose. This announcement comes after months of statewide bipartisan opposition to the public authority model and the UW System cuts.

Students, parents and alumni have all voiced concerns over the tuition hikes that would likely occur if both measures were to pass. In response to the failure of Gov. Walker's public authority proposal, College Democrats of Wisconsin Chair Phoenix Rice-Johnson released the following statement.

"The failure of Scott Walker's public authority proposal is a victory for every young Wisconsinite who called their legislators, signed a petition, and braved the cold to attend a rally over the past several months. Now, we must seize the momentum and continue our efforts to save our UW from Walker's harmful cuts," Rice-Johnson said. "Any legislator who opposed public authority in fear of higher tuition should be equally appalled by the financial aid cuts, program cuts, faculty layoffs, and tuition hikes expected if $300 million is slashed from our state universities. I applaud the legislative Republicans who reached across the aisle to stop public authority. In the next few weeks, I hope to see the same level of bipartisan cooperation and concern for students when the legislature decides the fate of the UW System."