University of Wisconsin President Ray Cross asked Gov. Tony Evers and legislative leaders Wednesday to call a special session of the Legislature to allow for UW to borrow money through a line of credit and possibly start classes earlier to help deal with “unprecedented financial and planning challenges” due to the coronavirus pandemic.
>>UWM Grapples With 'Catastrophic' Financial Hit As Leaders Plan For Fall
Cross made the request for a special session in a letter sent to Evers, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald.
Vos spokeswoman Kit Beyer said Vos would discuss the request with Republicans who control the Assembly. Evers and Fitzgerald did not immediately return messages seeking comment.
The Legislature has adjourned its regular session for the year. Lawmakers did return in April to pass a bill in response to the COVID-19 outbreak and Evers said then that more work was to be done. The Legislature is widely expected to have to meet sometime this year to make budget cuts to deal with severe drop offs in state tax revenues due to the pandemic.
How severe the state budget shortfall will be is unknown. Between July 2019 and April, shortly after most nonessential businesses in the state were closed in reaction to the virus, tax collections were down $313 million compared to the same time period the year before. Even though businesses have slowly began to reopen, Evers has projected a $2 billion loss over the current budget that runs through June 2021.
The university system, like state government as a whole, is facing daunting budget challenges. It has already cut $40 million in a first wave of reductions ordered by Evers for the current fiscal year that ends on June 30. But more are coming. The flagship Madison campus alone is preparing for a loss of at least $120 million in revenue, with an unknown state-ordered cut on top of that.
Cross noted that campuses have already furloughed and laid off employees and reduced costs. In order to have more flexibility, Cross asked for three general law changes:
- Grant a one-time exemption to allow for the school year to start earlier than Sept. 1, the earliest date allowed under state law. Cross noted that given the expectation of a spike in COVID-19 cases in the fall, many colleges want to start classes earlier and use an expedited scheduled to complete the fall semester by Thanksgiving.
- Give the university the ability to take out a line of credit to allow it to borrow money to get through the budget crisis posed by the pandemic. Cross noted that other universities are taking this step. Any debt created would be the responsibility of the university to pay back, not the state, Cross said.
- Relieve UW of many reporting requirements to free up resources, a move Cross said would “enhance the ability of our universities to be open in the broadest way possible this fall.”
Cross is retiring as UW president as soon as a successor is named.
