Two UW campuses considering furloughs

PLATTEVILLE, Wis. (Civic Media) – Two UW campuses, UW Platteville and UW Parkside, are considering layoffs and furloughs as they face a budget shortfall. The announcement comes as other UW campuses intend to furlough hundreds of employees, and other two-year UW campuses announcing they will soon close their doors. 

UW Platteville is facing a nearly $10 million budget deficit, while UW Parkside is facing an over $5 million deficit, according to documents released by the UW System last week. 10 of the 13 UW campuses are expected to face a budget deficit this year.

UW System President Jay Rothman says that he’s disappointed by the announcement, but not surprised.

UW Oshkosh already intends to impose unpaid time-off for hundreds of employees this fall. The two-year campus in Richland Center closed after years of declining enrollment in July.

Earlier this year, Governor Tony Evers proposed expanding the UW System’s budget by over $300 million. Instead, Republicans in the state’s Joint Finance Committee cut the system’s budget by about $32 million. Republican leaders said that that was their estimate on how much the system spends on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, or DEI programs over the course of a budget cycle. 

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos called DEI a waste of public money. Vos later said that the UW System could get that $32 million back if they eliminated DEI programs and positions.

Budget analysts with the UW System said today that they plan to ask the Joint Finance Committee for about half of that money later this year. Sean Nelson, the system’s vice president of finance and administration, said they would use the money to fund engineering, data, science and nursing programs.