A smaller increase in funds to the UW System proposed by Gov. Scott McCallum in the 2001-03 budget address Tuesday could mean higher tuition costs for students, a UW System official said Wednesday.

“We’re concerned about what students are going to be asked to pay,” said Kevin Boatright, assistant vice president for university relations for the UW System.

Gov. McCallum’s proposal included a 1.6 percent increase in funds for the UW System, shocking the Board of Regents who requested a 3.7 percent increase.

The proposed increase would include money from state tax dollars and student fees, an amount totaling $35.4 million, Boatright said.

Under the proposal, $26.7 million would be paid by students through tuition, he said, and state tax dollars would only account for $8.7 million of the increase.

Boatright said it’s too early to tell how much tuition would increase if the budget proposal was approved.

According to an Associated Press story, the governor said the state needs to tighten its belt. The state needs to use $557 million of this budget to pay for commitments the last budget made, he said.

“We’ve been using the taxpayer’s credit card to increase spending and we’ve come up short in producing the money to pay the bill, so now we’ve got to make some painful decisions and take the steps to make sure this situation is not repeated,” McCallum said.

The smaller increase in funds also means many UW System initiatives were bypassed in the governor’s proposal, including the Chippewa Valley Initiative, Chancellor Donald Mash said.

The initative would produce more graduates in technology fields and attract graduates to stay in the area, he said.

“I was disappointed,” Mash said Wednesday about the proposal. “But I’m hopeful we can work at the legislative level to improve funding.”

Other initiatives bypassed were funding for continuing improvement in libraries and technology in UW Schools and increasing financial aid.

Academic advising was the only student intuitive funded in the budget proposal.

A statement issued Tuesday by Katharine Lyall, president of the UW System, said work has been done in the past year to demonstrate how important the UW System is in Wisconsin’s economic growth.

“I’m hopeful that our final funding levels for 2001-03 will be a significant improvement over what the governor proposed (Tuesday),” Lyall said in the release.

Boatright said he echoes Mash’s and Lyall’s views that the proposal is a starting point and that, hopefully, they can work to increase funds appropriated.

Plans for the budget are to be completed before the fiscal year begins in July. A final budget is expected to be submitted in June at the latest.

“(Tuesday’s) budget proposal is just that – a proposal” Boatright said. “There’s a lot of conversation yet to take place.”