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New group forms to fight for UW funding

Posted at 6:22 PM, Jun 17, 2019
and last updated 2019-06-17 19:22:39-04

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A new group is forming to push for ending a University of Wisconsin System tuition freeze and more state funding for UW-Madison.

Badgers United launched Monday. The board of directors includes former Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig, a UW-Madison alumnus. John and Tashia Morgridge, alumni who have donated millions of dollars to the campus, also sit on the board.

Republican lawmakers have kept tuition rates for in-state students frozen since 2013. The GOP-controlled Joint Finance Committee in May approved a proposal in Democratic Gov. Tony Evers' budget that extends the freeze for another two years.

Evers' budget called for $127 million in additional state aid for the system but the committee cut that back to $58 million. System President Ray Cross called the reduction a "kick in the shins."