The DASB senate presented a second draft of the student leader compensation resolution on May 8, following the initial proposal at the May 1 meeting.

The draft states several reasons for senators to be paid but lacks a compensation code.

The draft, presented by student trustee Genevieve Kolar, proposes payments of $720 to senators and $1,200 to executive officers per quarter.

The total is estimated at $76,320 annually.

Kolar proposed 17 whereases, or reasons, as the foundations of the resolution.

Included in the whereases are the cost of living in the Bay Area, student government demographics, and the hope that students can work fewer hours outside of school.

Senator Michelle Lam Hua and president Lawrence Su both expressed support for the number of wherases presented.

Su said the senate helped the college and district previously and should be paid.

“We’re within our own jurisdiction to ask [for compensation] because we helped the college and district,” said Su.

He said the DASB senate funded athletes for more than 11 years and should be paid in return.

Part of the resolution proposes priority registration for senators and executives.

Su said that senators deserve priority registration to choose classes ahead of time, schedule around meetings and be held accountable since they must attend and should not be late.

“We are saying that we should be placed on the same level as athletes because we’re student athletes too. We’re representing the school,” Su said.

Issues such as accountability, supervision of payroll and excused absences were not detailed in the resolution and need further explanation.

Su said senators should spend 10 hours per week working for DASB: two hours at senate meetings, two hours at shared governance meetings, two hours at committee meetings, two hours of office hours and two hours of field hours.

The office hours are not heavily enforced, said Su, but the sign-in sheet for managing office hours would be better managed if senators were compensated.

According to the resolution, senators are paid for every committee meeting attended and docked pay for each meeting missed.

Shelly Michael, president-elect and newly elected spring DASB vice president, said that she is unsure whether or not to pay for excused absences.

“I am not going to know this unless we completely break down how students are going to be paid,” Michael said.  

Senator Amine El Moznine said he worries if the resolution discourages students to join more committees and receive multiple payments.

“My concern was that if I wanted to go above and beyond by joining several committees, then I’d have more opportunities to lose pay because I’d have more meetings to attend,” said Moznine.

Su suggested that senators should be paid based on the one committee they applied to serve on.

“We will not give them raises [for more committees],” Su said.

The senate considered how to pay senators who resign mid-term.

“Partial months should not be paid,” said Jeff Lydon, DASB senator, referring to senators who attend only one meeting for the month.

College life office coordinator Dennis Shannakian said that senators who resign mid-term should be put on probation.

Kolar said that if student government is considered paid employment, the senate should turn to district human resources that pays students hired on the campus.

Su said the resolution presented needs revisions and suggests drafting a compensation code.

“We should be working on the compensation code and then the resolution,” said Su.

DASB will vote to endorse the resolution at their May 15 meeting.