STEVENS POINT, Wis. (WSAU) — A city has gone on record opposing a big part of Governor Scott Walker’s proposed state budget.
The Stevens Point City Council unanimously passed a resolution Monday night opposing the proposed cuts to the UW System and requests the Legislature to fund the university as recommended by the Board of Regents.
Resident Cathy Dugan is closely connected to the UW Stevens Point campus. She fears the cuts will severely impact the campus and the community. “Everything is cut, cut, cut. Faculty, personnel, buildings, students. We need a review of what the Wisconsin Idea means.”
Mayor Gary Wescott says the UWSP campus staff and visitors has about 408-million dollars in annual economic impact while supporting 5,690 jobs and generating over 16-million in tax revenue. “It’s more than an economic engine, I mean, everybody’s talking about universities and cities are key parts of the economic engine that drives Wisconsin, and certainly, I think any economist would agree with that. The University of Wisconsin Stevens Point absolutely is a critical part of this region’s economy.”
Wescott also spoke about Governor Walker’s comment implying professors could teach more classes and do more work. The Mayor says Walker is not considering off campus contributions to the community. “You may remember that we frequently benefited from university professors, college deans, we even had the Vice Chancellor and Provost serving on city commissions, city committees, boards, giving of their time, and above all of that of course, they still have to grade papers and prepare lesson plans.”
The only discussion about the resolution was from Alderman Michael O’Meara, who questioned why additional reasons opposing the cuts were not listed. Wescott said the initial draft was several pages, and they edited it down to the most important ones. He said, “The resolution before you is a tiny reflection of the impact of the u that has been here since 1894.