MON AM News: UW-Madison think tank report argues resident tuition rates aren’t high enough; Dane Co. board approves data center moratorium

June 8, 2026

— While Republicans are decrying the recently approved 2% UW tuition hike that Regents call “balanced and modest,” a new report from a UW-Madison think tank argues the university’s in-state tuition isn’t high enough.

The Center for Research on the Wisconsin Economy recently issued a report making the case that tuition at UW-Madison is too low, reflecting “a legacy of political price control” rather than actual market value.

The latest system-wide tuition increase is the fourth in a row after a decade of a state-imposed freeze. Republicans have spoken out against the tuition hike, which comes after the Universities of Wisconsin system received $256 million in extra state aid in the latest budget.

But authors say despite the fact that the “debate treats this as a hardship; the data show the opposite.”

UW-Madison’s resident fees and tuition of $12,166 per academic year are the 12th lowest among the 38 public members of the Association of American Universities and below the median of $14,726 for the AAU, the report shows. Authors note UW-Madison’s “research peers” charge up to 73% more, arguing that even with the 2% tuition increase, it remains “a top-ranked public university priced as if it were a middling one.”

With the university’s nonresident tuition set at $44,191 per year, residents pay about 28 cents on the dollar compared to the non-subsidized rate, according to the report. Authors say that’s the fourth-lowest in the AAU, while the difference of about $32,000 is among the largest of the group.

They argue this “below-market” price is regressive, “subsidizing well-off families at the expense of taxpayers” whose children don’t attend the university.

“The remedy is to let market forces set resident tuition: benchmark it to peers and the nonresident price, index it to inflation, and pair higher tuition with need-based aid,” they wrote.

The argument is based in part on the private return of a bachelor’s degree from the university, calculated at about $760,000 over the course of a resident graduate’s career.

“It makes more sense for students to pay for that education than to shift the burden onto the taxpayer, so resident tuition should be governed by market forces, not by recurring political control,” authors wrote.

See the report.

— The Dane County Board of Supervisors has OK’d an 18-month moratorium on hyperscale data centers.

Supervisors voted unanimously late last week to approve the resolution, which was sent on to County Executive Melissa Agard for her signature.

“It’s the prudent thing to do,” County Board Chair Patrick Miles said Friday. “To empower communities to make informed decisions about land use.”

He previously told WisPolitics the moratorium would give an advisory committee set up in the fall time to complete research into the benefits and pitfalls of authorizing the developments for the more than two dozen communities under the county’s zoning authority.

See the release.

See more on data center moratoriums in Wisconsin in a recent story.

— The county board is also urging UW Health and Children’s Wisconsin to resume gender-affirming care for transgender youth, warning of “serious risks to health and well-being” from delaying or denying such care.

The Dane County Board of Supervisors approved a resolution condemning both health systems for their “abrupt cessation” of gender-affirming healthcare for patients under age 18 earlier this year. The resolution notes the “significant disruption and harm” the decision has caused to transgender and non-binary youth and their families in the county.

The final version included a committee amendment adding Children’s Wisconsin to the resolution’s language as well as a section detailing the impact of families being driven to seek gender-affirming care outside of the state.

Other sections of the resolution refer only to UW Health, including one noting its Jan. 14 decision to cease providing this care cited potential federal enforcement actions that could impact Medicaid and Medicare reimbursement.

Another notes UW Health’s statutory mission requires delivering high-quality health care to all patients, including the medically underserved.

“Decisions that restrict access to medically necessary care for vulnerable populations raise concerns regarding the consistency of that mission and the long-term implications for equitable health care delivery,” the resolution reads.

In a statement on last week’s resolution, UW Health said “threats from ongoing federal actions are not fully resolved” despite the evidence-based nature of gender-affirming care.

“Therefore, the current risk is too great to resume this care. We recognize the challenges faced by impacted patients and families and remain committed to providing patient-centered care and supporting their health and well-being throughout this critical time.”

In addition to calling on the care providers to resume providing this care for youth “to the fullest extent permitted by law,” the board is also urging UW-Madison to conduct a review of the decision to stop providing such care as well as “recommendations for safeguarding continuity of care in the future.”

The resolution was authored by Supv. Aria Trucios, who uses they/them pronouns, according to a release from the board.

“The loss of this healthcare has permanent, irreversible impacts on patients’ lives, and the decision to end it abruptly has caused real harm,” Trucios said in a statement. “At no point has UW Health had a legal duty to cease providing this healthcare. We call on UW Health to put the wellbeing of their patients first by resuming care to the fullest extent permitted by law.”

Children’s Wisconsin didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the resolution.

The board’s message is the latest attempt to sway the decision of these healthcare providers, after LGBTQ+ advocacy group Fair Wisconsin and other organizations sent a letter in May calling for the resumption of gender-affirming care for transgender youth. When asked for comment at the time, both health systems were quick to reject the appeal.

See the release.

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— A local advocacy group in northeastern Wisconsin is criticizing the state’s $10 million PFAS contamination settlement with Tyco, arguing it doesn’t go far enough.

The Peshtigo-based group Save Our H2O issued a statement of “deep disappointment” following last week’s announcement that the company would pay the $10 million penalty into the state’s PFAS Trust Fund along with covering the cost of existing cleanup.

The organization, which describes itself as a grassroots community group, says the settlement is far short of what residents impacted by PFAS pollution were promised and deserve. It notes the settlement reduces the company’s area of responsibility to be smaller than what the company had acknowledged earlier.

As a result, more than 80 homeowners whose private wells are contaminated with PFAS — but live outside the area specified in the settlement — will need to “compete” for dollars from the trust fund, according to Save Our H2O.

“By placing these funds into a statewide PFAS trust fund, impacted residents across Wisconsin are now forced to compete against one another for limited resources, despite all communities being equally deserving of clean, safe drinking water,” the group said.

See the release.

See more in a recent story.

— In the latest GOP radio address, Sen. Patrick Testin highlights the importance of Wisconsin agriculture and the continued support of the Dairy Innovation Hub program in the last state budget.

“Knowing the importance of the dairy sector to Wisconsin, my Joint Finance Committee colleagues and I included funding in the most recent state budget to continue the Dairy Innovation Hub program,” the Stevens Point Republican says. “This initiative allows the state to remain at the forefront of the industry by focusing on dairy research, education and outreach.”

Testin showcases opportunities for Wisconnites to celebrate Dairy Month in their communities.

“One of the ways you can personally recognize June Dairy Month is by attending a breakfast on the farm in your community,” Testin says. “These gatherings provide a great opportunity to meet and support your local farmers.”

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