Student Government Association’s fall semester budget allocated $50,000 to 72 student organizations Wednesday evening.
The budget meeting started with Chief of Staff, Lauren Wasson taking role and continued into an explanation of the meeting procedure. Kevin Shurtz, the chief financial officer and Colton Powell, the executive treasurer explained the mathematics used to determine percent of allocated funds to each organization.
$125,399.47 was requested by all groups and the average allocation was $694.44.
The top-funded organization was Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization (CEO), which was allocated $6,177 of their requested $18,250 (33.85 percent). Second was International Student’s Association, allocated $2,879.11 of their $4,684.50 request (61.46 percent) and third was Filmfest, which was granted $2,780.09 of their requested $6,000 (46.33 percent).
Seven organizations were allocated 100 percent of their requested budget, including: Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, Big Purple Marching Band, Bio Research, BioBuds, International Justice Mission, Missions Student Association and Red Thread. Each requested less than $750.
Shurtz, a senior computer science major from Southlake, said the budget was based on objective criteria to give each organization appropriate and fair funding.
“We thought it was very important that the allocation process was based on objective criteria so we could check our own policies and make sure that we were funding each organization in a way that was appropriate,” Shurtz said.
Shurtz and Powell explained the business allocation model, a mathematic formula ensuring fair distribution among organizations.
- Reliability: how reliable with past funds
- Modesty: how feasible their requests are
- Engagement: how many members they serve
- Consistency: how closely a projected grant resembles past allocations
Before receiving funds, each group was required to have Title IX clearance and meet with Powell to discuss their funding request. Powell and Shurtz compared requests to previous allocations. SGA does not fund t-shirts or travel expenses.
The budget meeting lasted about 45 minutes with no amendments. Powell, the senior financial management major from Nashville, said this is because the budget was distributed the night before as opposed to during the budget meeting as it has been in the past. Shurtz agreed and said explaining the methodology behind the allocations reduced the number of questions people could have asked.
Of congress members present, 46 congress members voted in favor, four opposed and three abstained.
“I think the overall reaction is that people were satisfied because of this system,” Powell said. “Everyone felt that they were treated fairly and equally, and everyone was equally pleased, which is the goal.”
