ASPSU is planning to significantly increase its budget allocation for next school year and already has big ideas for how to distribute it.
Brandon Harris, executive chief of staff of ASPSU, said the 2012–13 budget should see a raise of just over $40,000, putting the total ASPSU allotment close to $222,300.
“The budget proposal for next year’s ASPSU administration was created by the staff, with feedback from members of all branches,” Harris said. “It was approved by the Senate before it was sent to the Student Fee Committee, where it was slightly modified to create the end result. Committees from each branch of ASPSU met to talk about how to improve ASPSU internally; ideas that came out of those talks are reflected in the proposal.”
Currently, the ASPSU budget operates under a tier system, which distributes funds to student government positions based on a structured hierarchy, with the positions receiving the most money also having the most responsibility.
“The tier system is something we’ve created for this year, to figure out how much each position needs to be paid,” Harris explained.
There are seven levels in the system. Award totals for the levels range from $300 per term for tier one to $2,700 per term for tier seven. The budgetary increases are going to be spread between these tiers.
“Raises would go to specific tier levels,” Harris said. “For example, tier-two people are currently awarded $525 per term, and that’s been increased to $800 per term for next year. $525 doesn’t really reflect the responsibilities of those positions.”
Harris explained that all members of tier two and tier three would be receiving raises in the next budget. Positions included in those tiers include senators, Judicial Board members, Elections Board members, the Judicial Board chair and the Elections Board chair.
“These positions are integral to the healthy operation of ASPSU, yet have received substantially lower awards compared to other positions, despite the management and responsibility of each position. ASPSU believes in equal access to opportunities and providing an inclusive organization,” Harris said.
Harris explained that the concern is that lower paid positions will “price out” students with lower income who could work a regular job and earn just as much or more than working with ASPSU. As education and housing become more expensive and grants and scholarships become increasingly more competitive, ASPSU wants to make its positions accessible to all students regardless of financial background.
“This has created a situation where the only students who can serve as an ASPSU officer are students that can afford to receive small awards (students that generally receive support from their families) or students who work while serving as an ASPSU officer, which is incredibly difficult and can have negative effects on an individual’s academic success. The awards were increased in order to address these concerns,” Harris wrote in an email.
Harris then went on to point out specific positions from other tiers that he believed would be receiving raises, primarily due to their advanced responsibility and management that their current award total did not reflect.
“Another position that will be getting a bigger jump is the Senate president pro-tempore, who’s receiving around $675 per term this year,” Harris said. “We’re planning on bumping that up to the equal pay of an executive staff member. We’d also like to focus on senate secretary, as that position carries a lot of obligations as well. We have a consistent history of having senate secretaries leaving and not having them throughout the year. It makes it harder for the public to read the minutes if there’s not a consistent secretary throughout the year.”
The 2012–13 budget and raises have not been posted online yet, but the 2011–12 figures are there if Portland State students wish to view them, at sa.pdx.edu/budgets. Harris believes that this represents a great step forward for the availability of ASPSU and the organization’s commitment to transparency.
“The mere fact that it’s up online is a huge accomplishment,” Harris said. “When I was at Western Oregon, you couldn’t even see the previous year’s student government budget publicly. And our site goes back to 2001; students can see a whole decade’s worth of budgets, and how their student fees are being spent. I would imagine that it’s very empowering for students to be able to do that.”