Incoming ASUU President Justin Spangler presented his budget proposal for the next academic year to the ASUU Senate on Thursday night.
The new budget is $1.67 million total, 5.65 percent less than the current administration’s budget. Spangler attributed this to a lower enrollment number in the fall which means less student fees for ASUU.
Spangler highlighted several “failing boards” within ASUU and increased their budget. He also raised the student services budget with a 233 percent increase. Spangler said this board was being phased out by previous administrations, but he gave the board more responsibility and increased their budget from $1,200 to $4,000.
“We took money from our [budget] and gave them to those boards,” Spangler said about the allocation.
The election’s marketing budget saw a 50 percent cut from $10,000 to $5,000. The Freshman Council budget decreased from $6,000 to $4,500. The non-traditional students’ board saw a 37 percent cut as well. Compensation for the positions of president, vice president, attorney general and senior class president were not cut.
The senate also confirmed all hired members of ASUU for the upcoming school year. This includes the board directors, associate directors, Assembly vice chair and chief of staff.
Madison Black, the incoming ASUU vice president, chose Kenzie Peyton as her vice chair and spoke on behalf of Peyton at the senate confirmation.
“I think she will work really well with me,” Black said. “[We will hold a] better, stronger training for the Assembly reps.”
Black almost did not get to make the decision for vice chair of the Assembly. A bill was drafted by Mark Pittman, an Assembly representative for the College of Law, to deny the vice president the power to choose the candidate for the position. Pittman said he and Black worked together to find alternative ways to protect the Assembly from bias.
The bill had other stipulations about the vice president’s role, the speaker of the Assembly and the attorney general.
Pittman’s proposal was pushed back from third on the docket after confirmations and eventually removed. He said he expects the legislation to be reviewed by the Joint Review Committee this week and make it to the Assembly and Senate in emergency meetings before the end of the semester.
“It has the support of members from both the incoming and outcoming [sic] administrations,” Pittman said.
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