Wisconsin has lagged behind every other state but one in providing funding increases for higher education over the past five years, according to a report this week by the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance.

The report, which looks at state tax funding for the University of Wisconsin System over the past 25 years, was sparked in part by tensions between the state and the university, said Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance President Todd Berry.

Wisconsin ranks 34th in per-capita spending on higher education when compared to other states. Support for the System and state technical colleges from taxpayers increased by about 5 percent from 2003 to 2008, according to figures in the report compiled by Grapevine, a project at Illinois State University.

That was the lowest increase among all states except Michigan, which decreased funding over that period.

State spending on the System has remained about the same since the beginning of this decade, at around $1 billion.

But in "real" dollars, adjusted for inflation, spending has decreased since 2000, according to the report.

Berry said the state has made higher education less of a priority by increasing spending for other programs, such as Medicaid and public school aid.

System President Kevin Reilly said even as the state's investment has "slipped backwards," the university system continues to offer a quality education.

"It's a two-edged sword," he said. "If we keep slipping back, if that trend continues, we will get to point where we can no longer offer that quality."

System chancellors aren't free to find alternative sources of revenue or manage costs better because they are bound by state policies mandating hiring, firing, building, bonding, curriculum and the cost of tuition, Berry said.

The System is preparing a request to Gov. Jim Doyle to ask for more flexibility in some of those areas, Reilly said.

A spokesman for Doyle said the governor wants the university to have the tools to succeed and will be happy to look at the proposal.