S & A Allocations Distributions Have Been Decided

I recently sat down with Alyssa Garrido, the Student Government President, to

get some background information about how the decision process works.

First of all, S & A stands for Services and Activities. Funding sources for these

entities come from college tuition and fees and are used to cover a wide variety of

activities on the campus. The deadline for budget submission is the end of the winter

quarter. This gives the committee time to sit down and review all of the requests. They

are evaluated based on several criteria. These are: 1) how well were the needs

presented; 2) were there any changes from the last budget submitted; and 3) what can

be trimmed if needed? Considering the size of the budgets, they need the 8-10 weeks

to meet and evaluate the requests, and is finished by beginning of the spring quarter.

The Writing Center and the Tutoring Center, the Athletic department, Performing

Arts, Student Life, and The Pioneer just to name a few all submit budget requests

because they have large departments and have a large operating budget. For example,

the Writing Center and the Tutoring Center uses the money from S & A to cover a major

portion of their budget to pay their tutors. The Performing Arts has set designs and

costumes for their performances that need covered.

Cameron Cox was helpful in explaining how the money is distributed. A

committee comprised of a mix of Student Life Staff, a member of the Pierce College

faculty, a staff member from the finance office, and five PC students chosen at random

oversees money allocated for different organizations on both of the Pierce College

campuses. While all on the committee can offer input on the various budget requests,

the only ones who have a vote are the five students and Karen Scott, the PC faculty

representative. This ensures that the vote is fair and impartial and at the same time

gives the student body a voice in how the funds are distributed.

In the overall budget there is also a general fund for clubs and other

organizations. This is to ensure that money is distributed fairly. Activities like the recent

Clubs Rush, which is done four times a year, would tap into this fund. Individual clubs

can also utilize it for one-time incidental purchases. This is helpful because new clubs

such as the OASIS club and the Comics-Verse club that recently formed can still tap

into funding for their specific activities.

This year the budget requests did not vary much from last year. While there were

not any large increases, there were some that had an expected lower operating budget

than last year. These budget requests are almost automatically granted, since this

equates to money that can be put elsewhere.

However, Terrell Engmann, the Administration Senator, did explain to me that if a

club does not agree with the committee’s decision, they can submit a formal written

appeal. In the appeal they can state their case and offer additional reasoning or

additional clarification to support their position. The committee will review the budget

request again and then make a decision. Only one appeal can be submitted. Once it

has been reviewed, the decision is final.

Finally, there is a reserve fund that can be tapped. For example, if a club planned

an event and found a situation that put them over budget, they can submit a request for

more funds. Whether or not it is granted depends on the amount and the circumstances.