News
Briefly
Calendar of Events
Commentary
Opinions
Sports
Diversions
World News
Classifieds
Login
Letter Submission
Search
Archive
Publishing Policy
Mail Subscriptions
St. Cloud State University
College Publisher
Home
>
News
SCSU assigns entire surplus
SCSU officials have decided how to spend the $4.8 million surplus and the projected surpluses for the next three years
By Lesley Christianson
Published:
Monday, February 7, 2005
SCSU officials announced how they will allocate the entire 2004 $4.8 million budget surplus.
The administration also projected a comparative surplus for the fiscal years of 2005, 2006 and 2007. As a result, SCSU has tentatively decided what to spend the additional income on each year until 2007.
The university has decided to spread $1.95 million of the one-time monies to fund scholarships and "student support initiatives" over the next three years.
The term "one-time monies" is applied to the multiple surpluses scheduled to reoccur for the next few years.
"They're (university officials) referring to it as one-time money that is reoccurring," said Gordie Loewen, student government legislative affairs chair. Loewen believes this term is contradictory.
Other areas receiving a portion of the money include accreditation efforts, with a total of $364,000 over three years, $55,000 on first-year experience course developments such as the Husky workshops that have been available since last semester, $50,133 on a student e-mail program, $90,000 on undergraduate studies, faculty and student development, $75,000 on a field research facility in Kathio State Park and a $500,000 matching grant for donations given to renovate Centennial Hall.
The smallest portion of the money was allocated toward a diversity and social justice fund. The fund was broken into several categories including diversity training, initiatives to increase recruitment of students of color, mediation programs, American democracy course development, a MECHA matching grant, a Braille printer and students of color retention studies.
Over the next three years, $125,000 will be divided up between all of these various initiatives and programs.
"In casual conversation, $125,000 sounds like a lot of money, but in a budget the size of this university, it's just not that much," Loewen said.
Technology endeavors will be receiving $2.7 million over the next three years on items like computer replacements, maintenance E-classrooms (smart classrooms) and equipment.
University-community relations will be receiving $817,200 divided between a $100,000 advertising campaign, $25,000 to fund the alumni magazine Outlook and $450,000 toward fundraising campaign planning.
SCSU also proposed spending $5.7 million over the next three years on various parking improvements, including $79,000 on a parking soft and hardware system, $84,980 on new parking machines for the pay-lots, $610,000 on acquiring more property, $500,000 on buying Q-lot from the city and $3.9 million on the planning and construction of a new parking ramp.
The allocation of funds into areas like acquiring property and paying for renovations to Centennial Hall is causing some rifts between student government and SCSU administration.
Some members of student government believe these projects should be paid for by state bonds and not by operating funds.
Forum:
No comments have been posted for this story.
Post a comment
