**Update:** This article was updated at 12:53 a.m. on March 4.
The GUSA Finance and Appropriations Committee released the draft of the Student Activities Fee allocation for fiscal year 2010 on Wednesday.
The 10 organizations that receive Student Activities Fee funding requested a total of $436,000 in funds for next year, about $50,000 higher than was available to GUSA. The committee allocated $360,000 of funds toward the 10 organizations, placing the remaining $22,787 into a temporary reserve account.
The Student Activities Commission received the lowest percentage of funding requested; the committee allocating $12,500, which is about a third of the $37,600 that SAC requested.
In the written explanation that accompanied the budget, GUSA Sen. Greg Laverriere (COL ’12) said that SAC will receive an additional $12,500 if the commission agrees to comply or compromise with the two of the six funding reform points that the Finance and Appropriations committee has attempted to push through the funding process.
During Sunday’s Budget Summit, SAC Chair Ethel Amponsah (NHS ’11) refused to allow open votes or to consider a more accountable method of selection for SAC commissioners, such as GUSA Senate confirmation or election by the student body or club heads.
Laverriere also said that SAC should cover the difference of funding requested and funding allocated with the more than $60,000 currently in the SAC reserve and that some of the members of the Finance and Appropriations Committee had ordered that SAC receive no funds from the Student Activities Fee until it agrees to comply with all of the reforms.
According to Sen. Colton Malkerson (COL ’13), the committee can extract a portion of its reserves of more than $20,000 and allocate the funds to SAC, should the commission decide to compromise on the contested points of funding reform.
The draft budget gave seven of the organizations, including the Center for Social Justice Advisory Board of Student Organizations, Georgetown Program Board, the Advisory Board for Club Sports and the GUSA Executive, less than they requested.
The Performing Arts Council, Media Board and Homecoming were the only organizations to receive the full amount of funds requested.
The amount allocated, including the money placed into the reserve account, totals $24,000 more than was allocated last year by the Funding Board.
The senate voted Sunday evening to transfer $15,000 from the GUSA Fund to the Student Activities Fee general reserve account, an action that increased the amount available to the advisory boards, the Georgetown Program Board and the Student Activities Commission for the process of fee allocation.
The Finance and Appropriations Committee’s draft allocation is followed by a period of public comment, lasting until March 24, and requires a two-thirds majority vote from the GUSA Senate and a signature of approval from the GUSA Executive in order to pass.
