Category | News

SGA’s FY 2009-10 budget $102,555

Published on March 2, 2010 by Jenny Harrison

Given the recent controversy surrounding the proposal to buy massage chairs for the Student Center, KSU students may wonder how the Student Government Association manages its money.

President Daniel Street said SGA’s budget for the 2009-2010 fiscal year is $102, 555. The group has a line-item budget, which means it receives its allotted money in a lump sum at the beginning of the fiscal year in July.

“Line-item budgets are awarded to the largest organizations on campus-the ones that have been voted in by Student Activity Budget Advisory Committee [SABAC] to receive a direct budget,” said Street, a senior accounting student.

SGA receives its budget through the $72 activity fee students are required to pay each fall and spring semester. The money then goes to SABAC, according to Crystal Rouse, treasurer of SGA.

KSU differs from other universities because of the way student fees are distributed.

“Here, students are fortunate because the money does not come directly to us,” said Rouse, a senior and international business major.

The money is disbursed directly to SABAC, who then decides how to money is distributed.

Once SGA receives the money, Rouse said she is responsible for making sure enough money is in the budget before it is spent.

“I look at the money we have and see where it needs to be allocated,” Rouse said. She does not decide how the money is spent; that job is left to the voting members of the Senate.

Street said the largest portion of the budget goes toward stipends for the 10 executive officers and 25 voting members of the Senate.

“We do compensate them for their time,” Street said. “The compensation is based off work performance. If they’ve accomplished the duties as outlined in our bylaws, they’re eligible for up to a certain amount.”

Officers and senators are paid a percentage of their tuition and fees, depending on the position they hold. Last fall, the total of awarded stipends was $17,806.22. Spring stipends have yet to be determined.

After stipends, the next largest areas of spending were for T-shirts and sunglasses. SGA spent $5,500 and $1,575 for the two, respectively. Street said they purchased the items to hand out to students in exchange for feedback on what they would like to see accomplished on campus.

“Our purpose for this spending was to get to know the exact student interest outside of our Senate,” said Street.

SGA also created the KSU Vision forum where Papp presented the strategic goals for the university that he had developed with SGA. Street said this covered potential Recreation and Wellness Center renovation, the sports park and the possibility of football at KSU. In addition, SGA regularly supports the Health Clinic and KSU Staff Senate with donations of food or proceeds from past events.

Street said SGA also participates in other events and programs across campus and has people working with the parking, food advisory, public safety and information technology committees.

“We’ve appointed four people to the football exploratory committee,” he said. “We had two people sitting in on the Bartow County land gift committee. We adopted Strategic Goal Six recommending action steps for increased diversity on campus. It’s just really cool, the things we get to do.”

Street stressed that the line-item budget is what allows SGA to be so flexible with its spending, which in turn benefits KSU students.

“When we find out demands at the drop of hat, we can be very effective and leverage our resources,” he said.

Because of its flexibility, SGA can support other university programs across campus as it sees fit. However, Street said there are guidelines when it comes to SGA spending.

“We are currently bound by the SABAC guidelines for funding,” said Street, referencing the Registered Student Organization manual on the Student Life Web site. “The question is whether we need any additional principles to guide our funds.”

Street said SGA must work on defining its purpose on campus before adding more spending guidelines. The group’s existing guidelines have been under review. Two weeks ago, a resolution that would require new spending guidelines was proposed by two senators but voted down by SGA senators.

Students who wish to become more actively involved in SGA can complete a senator application at ksusga.com. Requirements to apply are listed on the site.

All students are welcome to attend the weekly SGA meetings at 3:30 p.m. on Thursdays. Locations for each meeting are announced on SGA’s Web site.