By Melissa Werthmann, News Staff
The Student Government Association (SGA) approved its 2012-2013 budget Monday, increasing annual stipends for two executive board members. The increases are covered by the Student Activity Fee (SAF), paid by all undergraduate students every year.
“It’s important to remember that stipends are in place to ensure accountability of the executive board to the entire student body, while helping off-set some of the costs incurred by these positions,” SGA President Michael Sabo said in an email to The News.
“The fact that every student pays into the SAF and the SAF pays part of our stipends, the students truly are our bosses.”
SGA debated the budget in its senate meeting last Wednesday and passed it Monday with a vote of 21-4, with 11 senators abstaining.
As part of the new budget, SGA’s chief of staff and executive director of communications will each receive a $788 stipend increase, bringing the amount from $1,575 to $2,363 a year. The SAF, a fee of $116 per year mandatory for all undergraduate students, funds all SGA stipends. The president’s $4,200 stipend will remain the same. Sabo said the rationale for stipends is that serving on SGA’s executive board is so time consuming that members cannot hold a part-time job.
“One of the chief reasons that we’re paid stipends is as compensation for the work that we have to do to represent the student body,” Sabo said. “The assumption is that the time that we spend would not allow you to get, necessarily, a part-time job that you might need for food or housing.”
He said the reason for the larger stipends is a reflection of SGA’s plans to increase responsibilities for both positions, and that this budget was the first in several years in which the SGA did not propose an increase in stipends for all executive board members.
“This trajectory was to essentially prove these positions worthy of some kind of compensation and over the course of time, the rate is increasing,” Sabo said.
Chief of Staff Terry MacCormack said the stipend increases for the chief of staff and executive director of communications positions are in line with requirements that went into effect this fall, requiring those holding the positions to work an average of 20 hours a week.
“Those two positions are required to do as many hours as the vice presidents,” he said.
SGA’s vice presidents of academic affairs, student affairs, student involvement and student services are each allocated $3,150 of the budget. The chief of staff and executive director of communications used to be funded at half of the levels of the vice presidents, but would be paid 75 percent of a vice president’s stipend if SGA’s budget is approved by the finance board.
Despite the two stipend increases, SGA’s total request for the 2013 fiscal year is $52,967, less than last year’s approved allocation of $55,181. Sabo said SGA’s 2013 fiscal year budget proposal is about a 12 percent decrease from last year’s requested amount of $60,406.
“We feel this is a responsible proposal, especially in a year where the SAF is being increased,” Sabo said, referencing an SGA proposal to increase the SAF by $4, making it $120 per student. “So SGA’s footprint on the SAF is decreasing drastically.”
The new budget will see less funds for customized giveaways, programming and food. SGA’s summer executive board retreat, which cost $1,818 last summer, has been completely cut from the new budget.
Senator Peter Petrin, a junior political science major, said the items cut from the budget are mostly minor things, which should not affect SGA’s performance.
“None of the changes made to the budget are going to impact how [SGA officials] serve students,” he said.
But Petrin took issue with the increased stipends and voted against the budget proposal. During Monday’s meeting, he said, “It does create a public relations issue … and when students are receiving that message I think it hurts our effectiveness as an association because I think it put us on a different level.”
Petrin said that when discussing budgets, it is important to recognize that money allocation makes a statement about what SGA values.
“I respect that the executive board works hard to serve the student body, but as a student leader myself, I know that there are student leaders around campus that work just as hard, day in and day out, without compensation,” he said.
Elections Committee Chair Taylor Cotter said she understands the reason for stipends and that the amount of money allocated per position covers only basic business expenses.
“Minimal costs are incurred being a member of the SGA e-board and they do cover the minimal costs, so whichever way you want to look at it,” Cotter said. “It’s not like … you’re secretly racking up money and hoarding it.”
But Senator Maya Quijada, a sophomore political science and international affairs major, disagreed.
“I’ve never once heard a student outside of this senate say, ‘I understand why e-board members of the SGA are paid stipends,’” she said. “SGA does great things on this campus, however I do not see a reason the SAF should be funding more money to one individual.”
Correction: A previous version of this article stated that SGA was allocated $52,967 for the 2013 fiscal year. They have requested this amount, but it has not yet been allocated.
