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Erin Campbell might not be able to buy her books for weeks, and Rose Reisinger may have to take out more loans.
The three are among 4,300 low-income college students on a waiting list for the state’s premier financial aid program, which has run out of money because of a budget stalemate at the Capitol.
Most of the students started classes Tuesday without knowing when, or even if, they will receive aid. And they are getting angry at lawmakers.
“It’s like, come on. We all have deadlines. Meet them!” said Reisinger, 22, a fifth-year senior at University of Wisconsin-Stout. “Forty-three hundred people are waiting to hear what’s going on.”
Lawmakers are more than two months late passing a budget because of disagreements between the Democratic-controlled Senate and Republican-led Assembly. The delay has made Wisconsin the only state with a July 1 deadline without a budget.
A committee of lawmakers trying to find compromise is scheduled to meet today, its tenth meeting since July. Little progress has been made in closing a $10 billion budget gap between the two houses.
Many programs have been spared pain so far because spending continues at the same level as in the budget year that ended June 30. The Wisconsin Higher Education Grant program, which awards need-based grants ranging from $674 to $2,730 per year, is one exception.
Those who run the program created a waiting list after making commitments totaling $39 million to 22,400 prospective UW System students. Anyone who applied after June 26 4,342 people as of last week is on the list.
Those students would not see any relief under the Assembly budget, which proposed spending $39 million on the program, or $4 million less than last year. The Senate and Gov. Jim Doyle have proposed spending $50 million, enough to accommodate them.
Connie Hutchison, executive secretary of the Wisconsin Higher Educational Aids Board, said she remains hopeful lawmakers will reach a compromise that frees up money for students on the list. But she said the delay has taken a toll.
“It’s most difficult for the poorest students in the state,” she said. “It’s just an unfortunate situation. They’ve gotten caught up in the political end of financial aid.”
Selph said it’s probably already too late. The 21-year-old said Tuesday he skipped the first day of classes at UW-Whitewater and plans to drop out unless he gets money in the next few days.
The Delavan man said he needed the $2,500 grant to pay tuition because his job at Wal-Mart isn’t enough to pay his way.
“I probably can’t go,” said Selph, who wants to become a parole officer.
Reisinger, who is studying apparel design, said she will have to take out more student loans if she does not receive the $2,200 state grant. That means she’ll likely graduate in May more than $20,000 in debt.
“I’m always financially strapped,” said Reisinger, of Sauk City, who called the delay frustrating and annoying. “If the Legislature could hurry up and decide what route they are going to go, that would be a lot easier for our mindsets.”
Campbell, a sophomore at UW-Oshkosh, said she might not be able to buy her books for several weeks because of the lack of state aid.
“I’ll just have to do catch-up reading if I get them later,” said Campbell, 20. The single mother of a 2-year-old boy is working 30 hours a week at two jobs to help pay her way.
Campbell, who was raised by a single mother in Ripon, said she received a state grant last year and is confused by the delay.
“Financial aid is going to people who are going to be helping society. They are going to school so they can get a better job,” she said. “I think they should be able to agree on it.”
Chris Fowler, a 28-year-old Iraq war veteran and nontraditional student at UW-Oshkosh, took out loans totaling $4,000 after learning he was on the waiting list.
His one-year tour in Iraq does not qualify him for a state program that gives Wisconsin veterans free tuition since he was a resident of North Carolina at the time. Fowler called the budget impasse “sad” even though he said he could live without the aid.
“I hope that it gets resolved soon, not for myself, but other people who desperately need it,” he said. “This is a pretty big thing and it affects a lot of people. It’s not something to be toyed with. This is people’s careers and futures.”
