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The "Budget meeting" information at the end of this story appeared in the second edition only.
The Wisconsin Historical Museum on the Capitol Square could be one of the casualties of continued state budget cuts.
The Wisconsin Historical Society, which has had to cut budgets and staff positions in recent years, submitted a budget for the coming two years that continued current operations. But now the governor is requiring all state agencies to cut 10 percent from the initial budget request.
Historical Society administrators were being tight-lipped about proposals to go before the society's Board of Curators on Thursday. But board Chairman Mark Gajewski said that the museum on the Square is among programs that might be cut.
"I don't think that's the only thing being considered. We have to reduce society expense 10 percent. We will take a long look at everything, and that is one of the things," Gajewski said in a phone interview Tuesday.
Museum attendance has fallen from 79,081 in the 2001 fiscal year to 53,700 in the 2004 fiscal year, which ended June 30.
"That would be a factor. The governor said to take a look at programs and rank them from most valuable to least valuable and attendance is a way of measuring that," Gajewski said.
"The museum is in an old hardware store....