Richland County education committee backs resolution on UW Richland, directs counsel to draft East Hall removal plan

The Richland County Education Committee voted on Thursday to forward a resolution to the county board calling for a state-funded pilot to maintain a sustainable presence at the UW Richland campus and to request return of a full-time campus recruiter. The committee also directed county corporation counsel to draft a resolution to explore removing East Hall from the county'University of Wisconsin memorandum of agreement (MOA) and return a draft to the committee in January.

The resolution the committee approved asks the UW System to provide $4 million for UW Richland for 2023'24, to negotiate clear enrollment targets, to return a full-time recruiter, and to consider removing a portion of campus farmland from the MOA to support housing development whose property tax proceeds would be dedicated to campus maintenance.

Why it matters: committee members said the campus'which county documents show saw student headcount fall from more than 400 in 2012'13 to 64 in 2022'23'is central to the county's workforce and economic development and that local officials want a seat at planning conversations about the campus'future. Committee members also raised the county's legal and financial exposure under the MOA, which allows termination if state appropriations are insufficient or if state higher education legislation alters the branch-campus program.

Sean (education committee member and presenter) delivered the presentation and the draft resolution, summarizing campus enrollment and budget trends and recent communications with UW System President Jay Rothman. The presentation said campus headcount had dropped sharply since restructuring and regionalization, and that the local campus budget fell from roughly $3.1 million in 2012'13 to about $1.4 million in 2022'23; accounting for inflation, the presenter said that budget would be closer to $4.0 million.

Terry Sobronik, president of the UW Richland Foundation, told the committee the foundation had offered in 2019 to fund a full-time recruiter for the Richland campus and that the offer was declined. "We were told by Chancellor Shields it was not our responsibility, so they wouldn't take our money," Sobronik said.

Carolyn (UW Platteville representative) told the committee that UW Platteville has been working on a transition plan required by the Higher Learning Commission and emphasized the university's immediate priority is ensuring current students can complete degrees. "They can complete their two-year degrees at the other UW Platteville campuses at the same price that they have at Richland campus," she said, describing operational steps the university is taking to support enrolled students and staff through the transition.

Formal actions and votes at the meeting included approval of routine items and three substantive committee decisions: forwarding the UW Richland resolution to the county board, directing corporation counsel to draft a resolution that would enable the county to investigate removing East Hall from the MOA and return a draft in January, and approving a design-services contract for partial roof replacement at the student center.

Votes at a glance - Approval to forward the resolution stating the Richland County Board position regarding UW Richland campus to the county board (motion moved by Supervisor Barb Weiss; seconded by Mark Cooley). Motion approved and will be sent to the county board for consideration. - Direction to corporation counsel to develop a draft resolution to investigate removing East Hall from the MOA and return that draft to the January Education Committee (motion moved and seconded; motion approved). - Contract authorization: the committee authorized a design-services contract with STR (Specialty Engineering Group) for partial roof replacement work (estimated design fee $8,000) to be paid from the campus fund (Fund 92). Motion approved. - Approval of payment of bills totaling $13,872.27. Motion approved.

Committee members and presenters repeatedly cited enrollment decline as the core problem requiring attention; several members said they want the county board to support both near-term intervention (recruiter and funding) and longer-term planning for campus footprint and possible reuse. Some members also urged parallel contingency planning, including exploring options if the UW System reduces in-person offerings.

Other committee business: building maintenance and campus facility items were discussed. Facilities staff reported a recent repair to gym air circulation equipment and identified outstanding issues including a broken pipe in the gym and a damaged drinking fountain. The committee approved moving ahead with STR design work to prioritize sections of the student-center roof replacement and asked staff to pursue cost estimates for remaining repairs.

What happens next: the approved resolution and presentation materials will be transmitted to state and UW officials named in the resolution, and the corporation counsel was directed to prepare a draft resolution about East Hall for the January Education Committee meeting. The committee scheduled follow-up work and said it expects continued engagement with UW Platteville leadership, the campus foundation and community stakeholders.

Ending: Committee members and presenters said they intend to keep the topic active at the county-board level and through continued meetings with UW officials in January so county leaders and community groups can weigh in on the campus'future and on implementation details for any pilot or redevelopment proposals.