There’s a story over at the Janesville Gazette about the budget for UW-Whitewater:
WHITEWATER – Gov. Scott Walker’s proposal to slash funding to state universities could drain as much as $4.3 million from UW-Whitewater’s 2011-12 base budget, college administrators estimate.
See, Walker plan could cut $4.3 million from UW-W — GazetteXtra.
The story comes despite a recent Walker Administration proposal for tens of millions in new construction on campus.
Here one sees the limitation of new construction, when matched against loss in revenue, and restrictions in labor rights. Long after students and faculty grow tired of the novelty of a few buildings, they will remember – and experience daily -the disappointment of higher costs, lower salaries, and a downcast workplace.
Looking at the Walker Administration’s approach to labor relations, it’s an understatement to say that they can’t see the fundamental importance of a happy workforce, and the greater importance of relationships between people over capital spending.
That’s why, for the most part, reductions in labor costs should fall first and foremost on leaders, with others coming only afterward.
In any event, capital spending will prove inadequate to offset the social and political irritation that budget shortfalls and changes in labor relations will inflict.