By Paul A. Anthony, Editor in Chief

Sing Song overran its budget last year by $44,000, university officials said, which has led to cost-cutting in this year’s show.

However, it will be difficult for the budget to balance in one year, said first-year director Kendall Massey.

“It wasn’t in good shape,” Massey said of the budget situation when he was hired. “What it comes down to is we don’t need to be putting a financial strain on the university anymore.”

The 2003 budget followed a year in which Sing Song overran its budget by $30,000-putting nearly $75,000 of financial pressure on the university in two years.

Sing Song’s budget consists of two parts-revenue and expenses. In 2003, Sing Song was budgeted to make $130,000 in ticket sales and to spend $120,000. Instead, it made $120,000 while organizers spent $154,000.

This year, both revenue and cost expectations for the program have been reduced by $10,000, said Phil Schubert, vice president of finance.

“It’s been a constant struggle” to stay on budget, Schubert said.

Sing Song’s excessive spending is mostly because of lighting and sound costs, said Wayne Barnard, dean of Campus Life, under whose authority the office of student productions falls. He said a main factor in the budget overruns is ticket prices that have not caught up with costs.

“It is difficult for Moody to be anything but a gymnasium,” Barnard said in an e-mail. “Pulling off sound and lighting for a production like Sing Song will be more and more expensive every year. Ticket prices have not increased in proportion to inflationary costs, and I believe ticket sales have also been down.”

Massey said lighting and sound generally cost $30,000, with about $20,000 going to the rest of the Sing Song production. The remainder of the expense budget pays for the office of student productions-salaries, rental expenses and bills, among other things.

“That’s not a lot of money for a show like this,” he said of the lighting and sound costs. “It’s really pushing it.”

University departments, programs and offices that create significant strains on the university are listed in a report to the Board of Trustees’ Finance Committee, the University Budget Committee and others, said Brian Thomason, director of budgets. Sing Song did not make the list last year, he said, possibly because the limit was raised to $50,000.

“People have a good incentive not to be on this list,” Thomason said.

Schubert said the importance of the program to the university community precludes many concerns the budget overruns may cause.

“Not to say that $50,000 is insignificant,” Schubert said. “I think Sing Song is a difficult issue, given the role that Sing Song plays to the university in a number of areas,” including recruiting, alumni relations and student unity, he said.

Nevertheless, said Provost Dwayne VanRheenen, who oversees the Campus Life division, overspending on Sing Song may reflect exaggerated expectations of what the program should include.

“Expectations just get higher and higher and higher,” he said. “What might have passed five years ago as an acceptable Sing Song program might be considered minor league now. We might have to step away from that.”

Steps are being taken to keep costs down this year, Massey and Barnard said.

Massey has created musical arrangements himself, which has saved money, Barnard said. Massey said he also is taking steps to cut more costs next year, indicating that a return to balanced budgets would be a multi-year process.

“I want to make sure we do it right, and if I make a mistake to do it right next time,” he said. “Because that affects the students.”

Barnard said savings in other areas of Campus Life have covered the Sing Song deficits.

Thomason, budget director, said the budget to-date looks better than it did last year at this time, although he said he was unsure if it would balance.

Likewise, VanRheenen said he trusts Massey to do a better job with Sing Song’s books.

“He’s a guy who understands budgets,” he said. “That’s one of the reasons we wanted to hire him.”