Student group leaders continued Monday to question and criticize a controversial decision by the committee that dispenses student money to reduce pay for some leaders and cut paid positions for many groups.
About 23 groups will lose stipend positions next year under the budget finalized by the Programs Finance Committee on March 17, including the Black Student Union; Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer Alliance; MEChA and the Survival Center, according to budget documents released Monday.
The cuts reduce the PFC’s budget by about $108,000, allowing the committee to lower its overspent budget to within the 7 percent funding increase allowed by the Green Tape Notebook.
Now some group leaders say they will continue to contest the roughly $5.23 million budget, which is slated to go before the ASUO Student Senate for approval on Wednesday.
Approximately nine of those groups will lose paid positions altogether, according to the documents. The new pay model restricts the number of paid positions a group can have based on the amount of money it spends on programming, exempting groups with less than $3,000 in program funds from receiving paid positions.
Although some groups will receive funding for fewer positions, groups can ask to split the money between multiple leaders, PFC member Michael Sherman said.
Leaders from several groups, including some that will lose positions, attended the Programs Council meeting, which was originally called to discuss a potential amendment to the PFC budget — an amendment that was not created because it was not possible, according to PFC officials.
Asked what PFC members did to work on the amendment during the break, Sherman said they considered ways to alter the budget.
“I seriously went home and thought about it,” he said. “The conclusion that I came to was that an amendment was not possible.”
Sherman also defended the new pay rates, saying there is “really no rhyme or reason” for some pay rates under the model currently in place.
Native American Student Union Co-Director Natasha Joseph expressed concerns that the PFC did not follow through on a commitment to address the pay model.
“Once again, you’ve lied and once again you’ve not done your jobs properly and it’s just kind of disgusting to sit here and hear all your excuses,” she said.
Sherman said at the meeting that PFC did not make a promise because it did not pass a motion. He added, “the current year’s budget would be unacceptable.”
While PFC officials previously told the Emerald the committee agreed only to work on an amendment, e-mail correspondence between PFC members obtained by the Emerald indicates at least some members promised to form an amendment.
“I don’t believe I ever promised the groups an amendment but I do know others did on the committee,” PFC Chairwoman Persis Pohowalla wrote in the March 24 e-mail.
Black Student Union Co-Director LaTina Lewis, whose group is slated to lose three of its five paid positions and a 26.93 percent lower overall budget, said it was “ridiculous” that groups must pay for the PFC’s mistake.
“I just get a sense that you guys don’t really know much about what this new process is, but you are tryin to convince us to go along with it.”
But PFC member Jael Anker-Lagos called the pay changes a “learning process” for everyone involved.
Sherman said groups were notified and the process was carried out.
Survival Center Co-Director Dinae Horne , whose group will be cut from five to three paid positions with a 21.43 overall budget reduction, said the model will affect her group.
“This is going to prove bad for many student groups ,” she said.
ASUO Vice President Mena Ravassipour said she would take the leaders’ feedback into consideration when working on the ASUO Executive’s budget recommendation to the Senate.
Some leaders also asked about the new payment system, which eliminates payroll taxes by paying student group leaders through the Business Affairs Office. Some leaders previously expressed concerns that pay would be used to pay student account balances first instead of being paid in cash.
Sherman said the money will be applied to account balances first, but students may be able to work with administrators to change that process.

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