Student association debates fee proposal

Some have suggested that the timing is bad in light of SGA's efforts to cut costs.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR EDUCATION WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Youngstown State University's Student Government Association is rethinking a proposal to assess students a new fee of $50 per semester to help finance capital improvements on campus.
Students would have to approve the fee assessment in a referendum on the 2006 SGA election ballot, and the university would also have to approve the plan before it could be implemented.
The fee would produce an estimated $1.2 million a year in funds that would be spent at the SGA's discretion, giving students the power to set some priorities on select projects.
Bob McGovern, SGA president, said there have been no formal discussions with the administration about the fee plan. A YSU spokesman said the administration hasn't taken any stance on the idea.
There is a growing sentiment among students against putting the issue on the ballot, at least at the present time, McGovern said.
There have been suggestions that the dollar amount may be too high and that more concrete plans need to be developed for exactly how the money would be spent before approaching students with the plan, he said.
Josh Hiznay, SGA vice president of financial affairs, came up with the idea for the $50 fee and thinks that a lot of people are receptive to the general concept.
However, it appears they would first like to see a specific project or plan in place for spending the money, he said.
For example, the SGA, in cooperation with the administration, could propose buying a projector for every classroom on campus. That would be a specific project with a specific cost and a specific fee amount that could be presented to students, Hiznay said.
Postponement likely
The issue of a fee will probably be put aside now until fall, he said, adding that more homework must be done on the concept.
There have also been suggestions that the timing is bad, coming at a time when the SGA is involved in finding ways to help the university cut spending in light of an anticipated tuition increase in the fall, McGovern said.
Some have said the move to assess a student fee is contradictory to the effort to control costs assessed to students, he said.
The YSU Board of Trustees is looking at a 6 percent tuition increase for this fall but has delayed taking a vote on the matter while efforts are being made to cut spending and increase revenue from other sources.
The tuition increase was first proposed in December, but a vote was pushed back to March and delayed again until June.
McGovern said the SGA will hold a special meeting at 4 p.m. Monday to vote on the fee assessment issue.
Students like the general idea of having more of a stake in things happening on campus, but now might not be the right time to ask them to help pick up an extra cost for that privilege, he said.
Cuts suggested
McGovern, in a recent presentation to the Board of Trustees Finance and Facilities Committee, suggested ways the SGA believes the university can cut expenses to the tune of $17,000 a year.
The list includes such items as saving $4,728 by converting the printing of some 3,000 copies of the YSUpdate newsletter to only an electronic version, eliminating the hard copies distributed on campus 19 times a year.
It's not a lot of money when compared to the fact that a 1 percent tuition increase would generate about $800,000 in revenue, based on current enrollment numbers.
"While a modest sum, it is something," McGovern said, noting that small savings here and there can add up and become more significant by June.
The SGA will continue to work on the combined goals of cost savings and revenue building, he said.
A group of YSU students, led by Paul Walker, a student member of the board of trustees and the SGA's secretary of external affairs, will go to Columbus to lobby for funding on YSU's behalf, seeking a fair share of a $30 million allocation for higher education that the state has yet to decide how to disburse, McGovern said.
This is the first time the SGA has gotten involved in cost-cutting at the university, he said, noting that the student group will continue its efforts to find other ways for the university to reduce spending.
The trustees and the administration appeared to be impressed with the SGA's taking the initiative to help find ways to cut costs.
Dr. H.S. Wang, board chairman, commended the student group for its efforts. Scott R. Schulick, vice chairman of the Finance and Facilities Committee, said it was "a very constructive" way to move forward.
"Continue building your list," advised Dr. David C. Sweet, YSU president.
gwin@vindy.com