Sara Norgon

In a visit with College Democrats Friday morning, Lt. Gov. Barbara Lawton presented the gubernatorial administration’s plan to raise tuition tax deductions if Gov. Jim Doyle, D-Wis., is re-elected to a second term.

Under the plan, the deduction would expand to match the tuition at UW-Madison, which is $6,000 this year, meaning the full cost of tuition could be deducted at any UW campus.
The deduction would also cover up to $2,000 worth of books and fees, which Lawton said the administration recognizes as another financial burden for middle-income families.
If re-elected, the plan would be in the governor’s 2007-09 biennium budget sent to the state Legislature in January.

“It’s expensive for you to be here at the university . for middle-income families, it can seem insurmountable,” Lawton said. “If this can offer some relief, it’s the smartest investment the state can make.”

Lawton and Doyle face U.S. Rep. Mark Green, R-Green Bay, and lieutenant governor candidate Jean Hundertmark in the Nov. 7 election.

In a statement Wednesday, responding to Doyle’s higher education plan, Green said Doyle missed his chance to help college students.

“Middle-class Wisconsin families are being priced out of a college education and we need to fix the system,” Green said in the statement. “I’ve offered a plan that will put Wisconsin kids first. We’ll keep tuition costs in check and increase financial aid.”

Since first elected into office in 2002, Lawton said the state’s contribution to financial aid has doubled despite taking the office under “difficult circumstances.”

According to a press release, students would save almost $400 more per year under the new tuition tax deduction plan.

Doyle and Green have expressed their desire to keep more Wisconsin students in the state to attend college. In an interview with The Spectator, Lawton said Green did not offer specifics on how he would accomplish his goal.

“I think Mark Green has used statistics on brain drain that began long before Governor Doyle and I took office and kind of hurls it as an accusation against us,” Lawton said. “He doesn’t actually say what he would do.”

Freshman Dylan Jambrek, who introduced Lawton at the meeting, said he agreed with the lieutenant governor’s proposals.

“I think it’s a good plan,” Jambrek said. “I think it’s important to get tax credit for parents to send their kids to college.”