By Abigail Passafiume
The Student Association approved the 2025-2026 budget, which included discussion of a 20% budget cut in club budgets and some executive budgets at the joint meeting with the executive board and the senate April 30.
Each year, the Student Association reworks their budget in order to make sure student money goes where it is needed to go so that clubs — and more importantly all of the students — are supported through campus activities.
Each student gives money towards the Student Association in order to have activities on campus. Currently the SUNY Plattsburgh fee is at the maximum it can be of $125. SUNY policy determines the max any SUNY Student Association can charge.
“The Finance Board decided that a 20% decrease rather than a 25% decrease would be the most fair thing to do,” Student Association Treasurer Sydney Wise said.
The finance board decided due to unused funds this year to cut club budgets across the board by 20%, as well as the Student Association special purpose fund and student affairs board budgets which haven’t been used this past year.
The finance board decided to add $5,000 in additional allocations to provide more support to clubs with specific events that need the extra funding.
”Now, our additional funding allocation has increased, so we can provide for the needs of clubs that way even more than we did in previous years,” Student Association Vice President-Elect Jack Sweet wrote in an email.
The total budget for 2022-2023 was $1,104,455. The total budget for 2023-2024 was $1,050,047. This past year the budget was $813,241. The proposed budget for 2025-2026 year is at $780,829. This is about a 29% decrease from 2022-2023. The decrease is due to the previous budgets relying more from the cash from the COVID-19 reserves and the adjustment of the student association fee over past years.
“Those who didn’t submit a budget, we looked through what they have previously spent. If they have a lot of money, we just use our best judgment on what the club will need in the future,” Wise said.
Student clubs get the opportunity to submit budgets to the financial board. Many clubs submitted the same number from the previous year or higher. The board decided cutting all by 20% was the most fair thing to do. Clubs that did not submit budgets will be getting budgets based on last years and this year’s cost. Clubs that are not active will not be getting a budget. The average cost of club budgets for the 2025-2026 year is $1,269.
“Really though, this encourages clubs to work together and interact more with the community. Fundraising and creating revenue within clubs is something that will develop from this, and in doing so strengthens our already amazing student body. We are hoping for this to be a temporary measure of course, and are at the present brainstorming ideas for alternate sources of funding for the next budget,” Sweet said.
With the approval of the budget, clubs will be made aware of the decrease in budget allocated club funding.
