Tensions rose as student senators were pressed for time as they discussed certain items on the agenda.
Andres Vergara, Commissioner of Budget and Finance, presented a tentative ASCC Budget for the 2016-2017 school year on Wednesday, April 20 and continued discussing items with senators at the Budget and Finance Committee’s meeting on Friday, April 22.
One of the items that lasted the longest to discuss was whether or not to cut, decrease, or accept as-is the budget for Falcon Kids.
This is a student initiative that was denied recently because senate believes that it would not directly benefit the students.
$19,000 was the requested amount for this account and senate believed that the amount exceeds the amount usually requested of other clubs.
Vergara stated, “The committee’s thought regarding Falcon kids was that the program should be funded based on the fact that it will help many students. It is a great opportunity for students to outreach, gain applicable work experience and network with teachers, administrators, and important community leaders.”
Jessica Germata, Vice President of the ASCC stated, “When the senators saw not only the Budget and Finance Committees recommendation to fund the program, but also in the amount of $19,000… [they] expressed their immediate concern that the program should be District funded not student funded since its outreach is in early education and may or may not be more of a promotional tool for the college, rather than a program promoting student success.
“The Senators have the final say so they can amend the amount and fund the program more, less, or not at all. They also have the right to strike the account from “Administration” and create a place for it under “Organizational”, if they wish to do so,” she added.
In the end the funding for the program was left at $10,000.
ASCC Leadership Training, which usually takes place outside of campus, saw a cut in funding from their proposed $55,000 to $10,000.
Senator Martinez noted that the training is a great idea for incoming senators to learn parliamentary procedure, constitution and by-laws.
The senator also stated that this would create a more effective senate and implementing workshops for fall and spring semester would be a great idea, while senator Patricia Quezada expressed that she never learned any of these procedures at the Leadership Conference.
Student Trustee elect, Karen Patron said the amount requested for training was too high and would like to see workshops implemented during spring and fall instead of a yearly conference.
Another item that was not discussed until the April 22 Budget and Finance Committee’s meeting is the budget cut on the student newspaper, Talon Marks.
$20,000 was the proposed amount for printing and publications.
Vergara stated that, “The committee felt that the amount of paper being discarded is not in line with our sustainability efforts.”
Germata added, “The Budget & Finance Committee debated this request based on the way in which it was presented to them, a generic request that only stated a lump sum amount with no itemized details.
In the end the Budget & Finance Committee decided to cut Talon Mark’s funding to encourage more eco-friendly alternatives to the distribution of their paper.”
At the committee meeting, it was motioned to move the printing budget to $15,000.
The Falcon Kids and Talon Marks item’s budget decisions will be finalized at the Wednesday, April 27 ASCC Senate meeting.
