The UC Student Association has revised its 2002-03 budget this month to scale its deficit down to about $600 from the original $17,000 deficit drafted in October 2002, which had elicited disapproval from various UC campuses and associations.
One reason for the systemwide contention over the student lobbying organization’s deficit was its allocation of stipends to Chair Stephen Klass and recently resigned Vice-Chair Christopher Neal. In a statement published in the Daily Bruin prior to his unexpected resignation on Jan. 11, Neal cited the need for a stipend as an issue of accessibility, explaining that he worked other jobs.
“”A lot of people have taken wind of it and blown it out of proportion,”” Klass said. “”There’s some kind of myth that if you’re in associations like UCSA, you can afford to volunteer your time and money to be benevolent, but we look for people with qualifications, not just [people] that have a lot of time on their hands.””
According to Klass, the UCSA Board had been considering stipends for “”a long time”” and had voiced no opposition to them. The chair and vice chair positions are currently the only two UCSA-stipended positions, receiving $4,200 and $3,000 per year, respectively. Neal, who cited a difficult financial situation as part of his reason for resigning, has been replaced by UCSA’s ex-Campus Action Committee chair, UC Santa Cruz undergraduate student Sabina Gonzales.
Another expense that pushed the UCSA into the red was its decision to hire a new staff member for a University Affairs position to be shared with the Council on Student Fees, for which UCSA allocated $5,250.
Originally, these new expenses pushed UCSA’s budget to about $17,000 in deficit. The UCSA’s budget must be approved by at least one-third of the University of California’s student associations, including graduate associations, to pass, but many of the campus-based associations voiced disapproval of UCSA’s increased spending in a time of budget cuts. Associated Students of UC Davis rejected the budget in December 2002, while UCLA’s Undergraduate Students Association Council and Graduate Student Association criticized the stipends, requesting a more explicit budget. UCLA and UC Irvine both formally objected to the budget.
According to Klass, many campuses were paying UCSA well below the recommended minimum in fees. UC Davis subsequently raised its donations after its Associated Students calculated that if they were to pay the recommended fees, UCSA’s deficit would be cut in half.
UCSD’s Associated Students contributed $23,625; the GSA is expected to contribute $5,000, but the amount had not been officialized by the time of the January budget draft. Neither association opposed the UCSA’s budget, nor did they raise their contributions significantly.
After undergoing several revisions, UCSA reached its final budget on Jan. 11 with a $614 deficit by collecting overdue and increased payments from individual campus associations, by collecting a debt from the UC Office of the President for UCSA’s collective bargaining, and by cutting UCSA staff travel and office expenses.
“”The important aspect of this budget is that UCSA has taken all these comments into consideration,”” Klass said. “”We’re now trying to reform our process so that associations can have more say.””
According to Klass, UCSA has accumulated surplus over the last few years, and the current deficit should not affect UCSA’s current campaigns.
“”We only made cuts where we were sure that those monies wouldn’t have to be replaced later,”” Klass said.
The UCSA is currently continuing its “”No More Tuition Increase”” campaign in response to further suggestions of UC fee increases made by the governor this month.
“”We work on this issue every year,”” Klass said. “”But this is going to be much more intense. This will be huge.””
