Registered Student Organizations at Fort Lewis College are numerous and diverse, but most of them will have something in common this year: a smaller budget.
Today, at 5 p.m. in Room 125 Noble Hall, members of different RSOs met to discuss the 2014-2015 budget year in a presentation set up and run by the Associated Students of Fort Lewis College. Both Scott Greenler, ASFLC president, and Phil Carter, ASFLC vice president, were present at the meeting.
The lower enrollment this academic year caused cuts. Enrollment is down 6 percent from what it was expected to be this fall, said Chloe Canterbury, the ASFLC Financial Allocation Board director.
Though 6 percent does not sound very significant, all of the revenue for RSOs comes through enrollment. The 6 percent decline in expected enrollment meant the RSO budget would be $31,032 short from what was projected, Canterbury said.
To help spread the burden of this cut, ASFLC proposed that each RSO II and III take a 10 percent cut in the money allocated to them for the year, adding up to $15,625. The other half of the money owed will be paid by what the ASFLC members refer to as the ‘Rainy Day Fund’, a fund saved up in case of emergencies.
The reason for using the Rainy Day Fund was to help “cushion” the cuts on all the RSOs, Carter said.
The 10 percent cut for each group is designed to be a fair way. Everyone contributes equally, though if any organization chooses to donate more than their share, they may opt to do so. KDUR has already offered to donate more money to the cause than their 10 percent, Greenler said.
RSOs’ travel grants, event grants and rollover money from previous years are unaffected by the cut, Canterbury said.
“This isn’t set in stone by any means,” Greenler said on this plan presented by ASFLC.
Currently, there are no alternatives for the 10 percent plan, though RSOs have two weeks from today to meet and discuss this before reconvening, he said.
A lesson to take into account is that budget season numbers are projections, not actual numbers, said Mark Mastalski, the director of the leadership center and faculty advisor to ASFLC.
“You cannot look at those budget numbers as concrete, because we don’t know those numbers until census date,” he said.
The census date is next Tuesday, Sept. 16, he said.
There will be more to follow in the coming weeks. Stay updated with The Independent.