WiscNet Issues Message on Governor's Partial Veto: Moving Forward

WiscNet sends the following message about the Governor's partial veto of the compromise on WiscNet and the UW's broadband grant that was reached in the legislature:

Over the past 22 years WiscNet has grown and evolved in response to our members’ needs. We (both the members and the folks that report to work here every day) have come to expect great, innovative advancements from our cooperative on a regular basis. The 2011 Wisconsin Act 32 that was signed into law by Governor Walker on Sunday will not change this. While it does present new challenges (and opportunities) we are committed to moving forward.

The law, though not ideal, does not prevent us from operating and despite some inaccurate reports; WiscNet will be around well into the future. As we naviage this new terrain, we will continue to focus on promoting changes that are necessary to make research, education and public service stronger for Wisconsin. We are working closely with the UW System to articulate the magnitude of the legislation on the community's behalf. We are continuing conversations with legislators and we are beginning conversations with many of the telcos. The good news is the meetings are happening two to three times a day. The bad news is the meetings are happening two to three times a day.

Your resilience and commitment to WiscNet and Wisconsin is what made a difference over the past month. As our plans firm up over the next few months the success of our organization will, once again, require your support. In the meantime, we will keep you up-to-date on our findings, interpretations and strategies and we will continue to work with great effort on the community's behalf to preserve the need to advance research, education and public service in Wisconsin. Stay tuned!