All of the proposed budget cuts for the UW System are on the table as state Senate Democrats approved a $20 million deduction plan for UW campuses Tuesday.

The proposal from the Democratic-controlled Senate is $88 million less than the Assembly Republicans’ plan and $31 million less than Gov. Scott McCallum’s. UW-Eau Claire and System officials have said they could handle the governor’s $51 million cut.

“(Senate Democrats) really did go beyond what we had asked for,” said sophomore Sarah Schuh, who officially will become Student Senate president tonight.

The proposal for the System is part of the Senate’s plan to balance the state’s $1.1 billion budget deficit. A special Assembly-Senate committee will negotiate the different budget proposals.

Schuh said she is pleased with the latest budget cut plan, although it is a lower figure than she expected.

She said legislators are a long way from settling the issue, but she hopes the cuts, in the end, are not higher than McCallum’s proposal.

“I think we’re definitely not prepared to take those (level of) cuts,” Schuh said.

The Senate offer would cap tuition increases for next year at 8 percent, which is 2 percent lower than the governor’s plan. UW campuses would be reimbursed for the money lost through the lower tuition cap so enrollment could be protected, a System report stated.

The plan also would fully restore the university’s share of the state’s economic stimulus package called the Chippewa Valley Initiative. The program is in place to create more high-tech jobs through the university.

Senior Katie Mize, a member of the UW-Eau Claire College Republicans, doesn’t agree with the Senate’s low level of cuts.

“I don’t really see where this deficit is going to be made up,” Mize said. Democrats and Republicans are playing political games with the budget, she said, and it is working against them. Legislators need to solve the deficit soon.

“People are being left hanging,” Mize said.

Eau Claire officials are pleased with the Senate plan, although the $20 million proposal is lower than expected.

“It certainly is a very attractive number compared to the alternatives we’ve heard,” Vice Chancellor Andy Soll said. Even at $20 million university personnel probably will be affected in some form, such as not filling open job vacancies, Soll said. The final level of budget cuts is hard to predict, he said.

“There are a number of very large hurdles we have to cross before we come out,” Soll said. System officials say they have been working with the governor and other legislators to restore earlier proposed budget cuts and are pleased with the Senate Democrats’ proposal.

In a prepared statement, UW Board of Regents President Jay Smith said, “(Senate’s) proposal recognizes and reaffirms the importance of the university’s economic stimulus efforts and the role we can play in reviving Wisconsin’s economy.”