Lawmakers axe Walker’s higher education plan

MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL — Republicans in the Legislature abandoned a proposal Tuesday by GOP Gov. Scott Walker to spin off the University of Wisconsin System as a separate government authority, but said they are committed to giving campuses more flexibility to manage budget cuts.

The co-chairs of the Legislature’s budget committee — Rep. John Nygren (R-Marinette) and Sen. Alberta Darling (R-River Hills) — said they hoped to reduce Walker’s proposed $300 million in cuts, but they didn’t know by how much. They are awaiting estimates this week that will tell them whether revenue will be higher than earlier projections.

The two said they would free the system from state procurement requirements and other unspecified mandates, which they said would help mitigate the cuts. They will put together their plan this month as the committee works its way through Walker’s two-year $68.4 billion budget.

Walker had wanted to make the university system a separate public authority, which he argued would give it even more freedom to manage its budget.

Read more at the Journal Sentinel.