Budget recommendations approved for 2011-12 school year
The ASUSU executive council approved tentative budget recommendations that would make $5,000 available to clubs next year at their meeting Wednesday. These recommendations will not be finalized until next week.
Each year the ASUSU executive council recommends a budget to the incoming council. These budget recommendations are based on estimates of how much money will be collected from student fees. The incoming council will vote whether to accept or reject these recommendations before this Fall.
The $5,000 for clubs would come from $2,000 that was allocated last year to Greek organizations and $3,000 from the $9,000 that was allocated last year for the Aggie Blue Leadership Conference held during the Fall of 2010. The $2,000 given to the Greeks was an extra, one-time allotment and changes to the budget recommendations will not affect their regular funding.
ASUSU recommended funding for the leadership conference be reduced from $9,000 to $6,000 so that $3,000 could go to the club fund. At the March 30 meeting, Tyler Tolson, ASUSU president, said by giving $9,000 to the leadership conference last year, organizers were able to lower the registration price from $75 to $25, allowing for a 275 percent increase in student participation in the conference.
This week Tolson said the large size of the event made it difficult to organize and that reducing funding would make it easier “to keep everybody on the same page.”
“The size made (the conference) not as personal as we would have liked it to be,” said Brent Crosby, ASUSU executive vice president.
Kaho Fiefia, ASUSU diversity vice president, said the clubs in the access and diversity center may receive less funding next year to allow more money to go to the general club fund.
“The club fund is really really low,” he said.
Fiefia said the director of the access and diversity center and the incoming diversity vice president will plan next year’s budget for the access and diversity center, but no definitive plans have been made.
Last year the executive council recommended an extra $175 to each college senator’s budget. The current executive council also plans to re-recommend this extra funding.
ASUSU also approved a change to its constitution Wednesday that officially makes the regional campuses and distance education representative an ex-officio member of ASUSU.
An ex-officio member is a member of the ASUSU executive council and can voice concerns and opinions about legislation during their meetings but cannot vote on legislation. The public relations director, administrative assistant and ASUSU president are also ex-officio members of the council.
In the past, regional campuses and distance education representatives could attend ASUSU meetings but could not voice concerns about legislation that could affect regional campuses and distance education students. While the regional campus and distance education representative has been acting as an ex-officio member for the past two years, the position was not made official until Wednesday.
“There was a disconnect between the regional campuses and the Logan campus in prior years,” said Rachael Anderson, current regional campus and distance education representative, “The unofficial nature of the position was a concern of mine and I just wanted legislation to reflect what was going on … I just want the individuals who come after me to understand they can discuss concerns for regional campuses.”
– rouchelle.brockman@gmail.com