On Aug. 12, the Student Fee Advisory Council reconvened to review and approve new fiscal year 2027 budget increase proposals for A Modest Proposal, the new Student Union and athletics travelling.
These new proposals alone add up to a budget increase of over $1.8 million, making the total SFAC approved budget $22.4 million. This is nearly $4.5 million more than the student fee budget allocated for fiscal year 2026.
A large portion of the budget increase occurred due to the construction of the new SU reaching its final stages and its planned opening in January 2027. The rest consisted of increased travel budgets for certain athletic teams and salary increases or formations of AMP staff.
Student fees are additional costs students pay on top of tuition to cover student services, medical services, recreational facilities, the SU, athletic programs and the Student Services Building. The allocation of these fees is determined by a combination of department requests, SFAC approval and President Prabhas Moghe’s approval.
The preparation of the new SU
With construction of the new SU coming to an end in late October or early November, Senior Associate Vice President for Student Affairs Dan Goodwin brought forth several requests totalling up to $1.78 million, with the majority dedicated to staffing, furnishing and maintaining the new building.
$409,050 will be allocated to pay for new staff positions while $525,000 will go towards funding the “close to 150 to 160 total student employees [that will] come with the build out of the new facility,” according to Goodwin.
Lastly, $709,814 was requested for both furnishing and maintenance of the new SU, which would including but not limited to keeping up the planned custom D&D tabletop game tables and a new student-showcase art gallery.
Athletics travels far
Associate Athletic Director Rob Bogardus requested the allocation of $40,000 equally distributed to the men’s basketball, women’s basketball, softball and volleyball teams to cover travelling expenses.
Additionally, $13,000 was cut from the track and field budget, as it was “not fiscally responsible,” according to Bogardus, to fund the team’s participation in indoor competitions. The money was moved elsewhere within the athletics budget, which would now total to $1.8 million.
AMP’s paychecks get a boost
On behalf of AMP, Director of Student Media Karen Fioretti requested salary increases and salary formations for all management staff positions, adding up the total budget increase to $7,200. For positions that already receive salaries, the proposal asked for a 50 to 100 dollar monthly increase.
For positions that do not receive pay at the moment like Assistant Art Director and Assistant Copy Editor, the proposal requested for those positions to be paid $100 per month. These changes would make the total budget for AMP $72,715.
Are these decisions final?
Although these additions were approved by SFAC, they still need to be approved by President Moghe. When asked by The Retrograde, neither Senior Director for Finance and Administration Liz Ramirez nor Student Government President and SFAC member David Baker were able to give an approximate timeline of approval.
If there are any significant changes or rejections made by President Moghe, SFAC will reconvene once again to discuss further steps. Regardless, they will reconvene in Fall 2026 to discuss FY2028 budget at a time and location available on their website once finalized.
This news brief is part of The Retrograde’s ongoing series covering student fee budget allocations and changes.