Allocation down to $10,000

Student Government Board’s allocations committee only has about $10,000 remaining from… Student Government Board’s allocations committee only has about $10,000 remaining from this semester’s $100,000 budget to distribute among student groups, according to allocations chair Felix Yerace.

“This is a situation that has happened [before],” he said. “This shouldn’t come as a surprise to any organization.”

According to Yerace, two years ago, the committee actually had about a $30,000 debt while last year the committee also had about $10,000 left to allocate by this time in the semester.

To receive money during the rest of the semester, groups must prove the necessity of their requests.

Yerace said, before approving money, the allocations committee now asks, “Is this something necessary for the survival for the organization?”

Currently, the allocations committee is not taking any more requests by student groups because it is working on groups’ budgets for the next fiscal year. Groups were encouraged to submit their requests early this semester because of the committee’s moratorium.

Last Friday was the final day for groups to request additional money until after spring break, Yerace said.

At its meeting on Wednesday, SGB either allocated less money than the groups requested or denied entire requests for more than half of the requests that it voted on.

At the public SGB meeting, Yerace reported that the committee had already spent $68,000 of its $100,000 budget for this semester. That, however, did not include money SGB approved without the committee’s suggestion to approve or the requests made by an emergency vote.

Yerace said if the committee cannot approve funding for the entire amount that the groups request, then the allocations committee may help groups by paying for part of their requests or by helping them find ways to cut costs.

At the meeting, SGB member Liz Culliton commended groups who have worked to raise money on their own through creative events including date auctions.

Since 1999, the student activities fee has not increased, Yerace said. He added that budget requests during that time have risen substantially.

In the 2000 to 2001 fiscal year, the committee allocated about $550,000 for budgets, not including supplemental aid. This year, the budget requests have risen to $1.1 million, Yerace said.

All of the allocations committee’s records are public, so groups interested in the budget could look at them at any time, he said.

According to SGB President Kevin Washo Jr., some schools only give student groups about $300 for an entire year.

There is no limit on how much money a group can request in supplemental requests in a year, Yerace said. However, individual requests including inviting speakers and attending a conference have particular limits as to how much the committee will allocate, he added.