The De Anza Student Body Senate passed the first vote on an amended budget last Wednesday night by 16 to 4. A second and final vote will be called this Wednesday, when the DASB will submit its budget to the Board of Trustees for approval. Over the course of two senate sessions and an open forum, the budget was analyzed to find where money could be cut and added.
Senators trimmed $20,950 from allocations proposed earlier, while $22,950 was added or restored to programs – with $15,000 being added to the Honors Program.
The “extra” $2,000 was taken from the Budget Crisis Allocation fund, a $100,000 pool of money being created for suffering programs to access if needed next year.
Of the money trimmed, $13,700 came from the DASB and ICC Leadership Scholarship. Formerly $50,000, this scholarship is for the members of DASB and ICC.
The first part of the budget deliberations was dedicated to budget cuts. The senate examined each major section of the budget, soliciting motions from senators for further reductions. The senator who motioned had a minute to help defend the cut, followed by a general pro and con discussion. Each motion was voted on, and the cut would pass or fail. If the cut passed, the money would go into a general pot that the senate pulled from later to fund programs that needed it.
Throughout the evening, some cuts and additions sparked debate between senators who felt strongly on the importance of programs in question.
The Diversity Leadership Training Project received the most discussion from senators, who were divided equally on the program’s merits. Senator Ole Petersen initially voted to cut the DLTP’s budget completely, effectively shutting down the program. He objected to the DLTP’s “[lavish] resort accommodations, when it could theoretically be held on campus over the weekend for thousands less.”
Senator Kitty Lam said that the program offered “unlicensed therapy for students” and that it did not enjoy the support of the administration.
Nacime Karami, vice president of student rights and services, spoke in favor of the project, describing it as a “valuable” forum that “changed [each] student” in a measurable way.
Vice President of Administration Dang Le helped explain the importance of the program’s traditionally off-site nature by saying that it “provides the environment necessary to engage meaningful discussion between students.”
Both Karami and Le agreed that the DLTP served as a bridge to senatorship for them.
Petersen’s motion to cut the DLTP’s funding was defeated 13 to 10. The DLTP will receive $5,000 next year, down from $12,000 that it received this year.
After a 10-minute break at 8:45 p.m., the focus of the meeting shifted from budget reductions to the increase of funds to certain programs.
The Honors Program received the most amount of additional money, helped by the comments of student trustee Deanna Stewart. She defended the proposal for $5,000 each quarter to pay for a program coordinator by describing it as the “bare minimum.” Karami was opposed, saying that it was well known that teachers wanting a lighter load opt for Honors classes due to their manageable size. Fourteen senators voted for the increase, and six voted against it.
Colin Pickel, vice president of budget and finance, motioned to increase CalWORKS’ allocation from $7,000 to $10,000. The motion passed unanimously. CalWORKS will use the DASB funds to buy textbooks for students on welfare.
The Men’s and Women’s Cross Country teams both received a corrective amount of $750 more, to correct a miscommunication between the budget committee and the teams in the proposal paperwork.
Faculty advisor John Cognetta spoke in favor of the $100,000 Budget Crisis Allocation fund, praising the senate body for passing it and protecting it amidst protest from groups like the DLTP.
Senator Pickel commented several times that a program “would survive through the fall quarter,” then be able to come back and request BCA money when needed. Deeply impacted programs like SLAMS already plan to request BCA funds next year to make up for categorical budget cuts.
The senate plans to discuss the budget this Wednesday, and approve the version which will go to the Board of Trustees. If approved by the Board, the budget will take effect next fall quarter.
Copies of the revised budget are available in the Senate office. Students are encouraged to attend this Wednesday’s meeting at 3:30 p.m. in the Student Council Chambers in the Hinson Campus Center.
Honors Program.
The “extra” $2,000 was taken from the Budget Crisis Allocation fund, a $100,000 pool of money created for suffering programs to access next year if needed.
Of the money trimmed, $13,700 came from the DASB and ICC Leadership Scholarship. Formerly $50,000, this scholarship is for the members of DASB and ICC.
The first part of the budget deliberations was dedicated to budget cuts. The senate examined each major section of the budget, soliciting motions from senators for further reductions. The senator who motioned had a minute to help defend the cut, followed by a general pro and con discussion. Each motion was voted on, and the cut passed or failed. If the cut passed, the money went into a general pot that the senate pulled from later to fund needy programs.
Throughout the evening, some cuts and additions sparked debate between senators who felt strongly on the importance of programs in question.
The Diversity Leadership Training Project received the most discussion from senators, who were divided equally on the program’s merits. Senator Ole Petersen initially voted to cut the DLTP’s budget completely, effectively shutting down the program. He objected to the DLTP’s “[lavish] resort accommodations, when it could theoretically be held on campus over the weekend for thousands less.”
Senator Kitty Lam said that the program offered “unlicensed therapy for students” and that it did not enjoy the support of the administration.
Nacime Karami, vice president of student rights and services, spoke in favor of the project, describing it as a “valuable” forum that “changed [each] student” in a measurable way.
Vice President of Administration Dang Le helped explain the importance of the program’s traditionally off-site nature by saying that it “provides the environment necessary to engage meaningful discussion between students.”
Both Karami and Le agreed that the DLTP served as a bridge to student government for them.
Petersen’s motion to cut the DLTP’s funding was defeated 13 to 10. The DLTP will receive $5,000 next year, down from $12,000 that it received this year.
After a 10-minute break at 8:45 p.m., the focus of the meeting shifted from budget reductions to the increase of funds to certain programs.
The Honors Program received the highest amount of additional money, helped by the comments of student trustee Deanna Stewart. She defended the proposal for $5,000 each quarter to pay for a program coordinator by describing it as the “bare minimum.” Karami was opposed, saying that it was well known that teachers wanting a lighter load opt for Honors classes due to their manageable size. Fourteen senators voted for the increase, and six voted against it.
Colin Pickel, vice president of budget and finance, motioned to increase CalWORKS’ allocation from $7,000 to $10,000. The motion passed unanimously. CalWORKS will use the DASB funds to buy textbooks for students on welfare.
The men’s and women’s cross country teams each received an additional amount of $750 more, to correct a miscommunication between the Budget Committee and the teams in the proposal paperwork.
Faculty advisor John Cognetta spoke in favor of the $100,000 Budget Crisis Allocation fund, praising the senate body for passing it and protecting it amid protest from groups including the DLTP.
Pickel commented several times that a program “would survive
through the Fall Quarter,” then be able to come back and request BCA money when needed. Deeply impacted programs such as SLAMS already plan to request BCA funds next year to make up for categorical budget cuts.
The senate plans to discuss the budget this Wednesday at 3:30 p.m., and approve the version which will go to the Board of Trustees. If approved by the Board, the budget will take effect next Fall Quarter.
1. Honors Program
Budget Committee Proposal $0
Proposal After First Vote $15,000
Difference by Dollar Amount $15,000
Difference by Percentage
N/A
2. CalWORKS
Budget Committee Proposal $7,000
Proposal After First Vote $10,000
Difference by Dollar Amount $3,000
Difference by Percentage
42.9%
3. La Voz
Budget Committee Proposal $10,100
Proposal After First Vote $13,050
Difference by Dollar Amount $2,950
Difference by Percentage 29.2%
4. Men’s and Women’s Cross Country
Budget Committee Proposal $1,500
Proposal After First Vote $3,000
Difference by Dollar Amount $1,500
Difference by Percentage 50.0%
5. DASB/ICC
Leadership Scholarships
Budget Committee Proposal $50,000
Proposal After First Vote $36,300
Difference by Dollar Amount
-$13,700
Difference by Percentage
-27.4%
6. New Student Orientation
Budget Committee Proposal $3,000
Proposal After First Vote $0
Difference by Dollar Amount
-$3,000
Difference by Percentage
-100.0%
7. DASB Marketing/
Communications
Budget Committee Proposal $6,200
Proposal After First Vote $5,000
Difference by Dollar Amount
-$1,200
Difference by Percentage
-19.4%
8. California History Center
Budget Committee Proposal $1,000
Proposal After First Vote $0
Difference by Dollar Amount
-$1,000
Difference by Percentage
-100.0%
