It was four years ago that then-gubernatorial candidate Jim Doyle came to the UW-Eau Claire campus for a debate with Gov. Scott McCallum and Libertarian Ed Thompson. In front of a thousand onlookers, Doyle told the audience that, if elected, he would cap tuition increases at no more than 10 percent.

I was more than a little shocked when, barely three months later, newly inaugurated Gov. Jim Doyle introduced his first biennial budget that – guess what – raised tuition a breathtaking 37 percent over a two-year period. As if the largest tuition hike in state history wasn’t bad enough, Doyle upped financial aid by tapping the previously segregated “auxiliary fund,” not tax dollars. Students contribute to the auxiliary fund, so Doyle funded financial aid with no commitment from the state. It’s easy to boast about boosting financial aid when you’re, in effect, “stealing” student dollars intended for residence hall upgrades.

Doyle didn’t only renege on his promise to students, he turned his back on the entire UW System in that first budget, cutting state support by a whopping $250 million. That cut was the largest in state history as well.

Somewhere along the way, the “Education Governor” forgot that education doesn’t end at twelfth grade.

Doyle will say the cuts were necessary because the state faced a deficit. But Doyle protected most of the other state agencies in that budget. The exception was the System.
This past budget was not much better. Tuition went up another 14 percent, fees over the past decade rose 100 percent and Doyle stood by as System administrators squandered $26 million on a computer software system that does not work.

Most alarming about the Doyle tenure is that many middle-income Wisconsin students are being priced out of a college education. The average family income of a UW-Madison student is now approaching $100,000. At UW-Eau Claire, the average family income is about $65,000. Yet the average family income for a Wisconsin family is about $45,000.

Doyle’s opponent in the gubernatorial race, Republican Mark Green, has made the UW System and college affordability among the central themes of his bid to unseat Doyle.

In response, Doyle has trotted out his so called “covenant” plan that could help eighth-graders someday get financial aid if they get accepted to a UW campus. It does not guarantee access or admission, and would only apply to eighth-graders who get free or reduced lunches and who stay out of trouble. One tardy slip and you’re no longer eligible.

That is the best Doyle can do. Give hope to UW students who will arrive in 2011. For those of us who will come out of school with an average of $15,000 in debt, the “covenant” is a hollow political ploy designed to make Doyle a friend of college students. Don’t fall for it.

A Doyle re-election won’t improve the System or its students’ plight. Doyle remains committed to slicing the state workforce by 10,000 employees. Guess which state agency that impacts the most? The System. Fewer employees means larger class sizes, fewer counselors and advisers, not to mention faculty positions that will go unfilled.

A second Doyle administration would continue what it has done in the past – put K-12 education at the front of the line and the UW at the back of the line. Oh sure, the System will get its money. But it won’t be coming from the state; it will once again be balanced on the backs of students and their families – those lucky enough to get in, that is. That’s because Doyle supports cutting tuition and opening up new slots for out-of-state students while in-state and reciprocity tuition continues to rise. So much for the once-proud “Wisconsin Idea.”