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University of Wisconsin System President Ray Cross unexpectedly pulled the plug on plans for chancellors to describe the consequences, campus-by-campus, of $250 million in biennial state funding cuts during a Board of Regents meeting in Green Bay on Thursday.

The chancellors had prepared presentations and even had a dress rehearsal with Cross last Friday. But Cross stopped the rehearsal before it was finished and has opted instead to have each campus provide a one-page written summary to the regents.

Cross told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that it was too difficult for chancellors to summarize their handling of budget cuts in five minutes, and that he was concerned about how to most effectively present the information to the public.

Cross said he made the decision after consulting with regents leadership, which includes President Regina Millner and Vice President John Behling.

"We were not confident this was the right thing to do, which is one of the reasons we had a dress rehearsal," Cross said. "As we got closer to the end (of the dress rehearsal), we realized we can't do this in three to five minutes — it's not enough time."

There likely also was some fear about the implications of one campus leader after another lining up to talk about how cuts affect staff and students. Cross acknowledged he was concerned the UW System would be criticized again for "exaggerating or being overly dramatic" about the 2015-'17 cuts — a charge Republican leaders leveled against at least a few of the chancellors last summer.

It's no secret Cross and other UW System leaders are gun-shy about how they are perceived, especially after being told they have to find ways to be more efficient and accept tighter state funding because it isn't likely to change much.

It's also worth noting that the system is just months away from preparing its next request for state funding, for the biennium beginning July 1, 2017.

"We're trying to reveal this was a significant cut to deal with, and the chancellors are really handling this well," Cross said, describing how he wanted the message to be framed. "Take a $250 million cut and handle that very well on top of previous cuts. There's a lot of positive things."

On the other hand, there is widespread concern that if the UW System downplays the impact of the cuts in this biennium, it could be that much easier for the Legislature to freeze resident undergraduate tuition for another two years, and add on another round of cuts.

Regent Chuck Pruitt told the Journal Sentinel he regretted the missed opportunity to hear from chancellors.

"I have long believed that it is critical that the Board of Regents offer a forum for public discussion about issues like the implications of deep budget cuts and multiyear tuition freezes on the quality of education on our campuses," said Pruitt, whose seven-year term ends after this week's regents meeting. "No group of individuals better understands those consequences than the chancellors who lead our campuses and deal with these issues every day."

Democratic lawmakers caught wind of the cancellation of the presentations and accused Republican leaders of working behind the scenes to quash them.

"If the governor doesn't want stories in the news about him slashing UW System funding, maybe he should stop slashing UW System funding," said Rep. Chris Taylor (D-Madison), one of the Democrats on the Joint Committee on Finance who signed a letter sent to the regents on Wednesday.

Gov. Scott Walker's office could not be reached for comment.