Campus Recreation, UB propose next year’s budget

Luis Martinez, Administration Editor

Representatives from both Campus Recreation and the University Board to propose their fiscal year 2015 budgets at the Apportionment Board Thursday.

Darius Francis and Melanie Kaderabek, chair and vice chair of UB, came to present their proposed budget. The proposed budget is $213,000, which is $8, 870 more than their proposed budget last year.

Despite the approved $204,130 UB budget last year, they only received $187,800. This was a result of the 8 percent budget cuts to UB.  This year’s proposed budget is $25,299 more than what they received the year before.

They had cuts costs for the previous year from marketing, cultural arts, production, comedy.

The general budget remains the same at $43,380, the same with the Homecoming committee with a $12,785 budget.

Francis and Kaderabek proposed a $4,850 increase to the comedy line item.  There was also a $750 increase to the cultural arts.

“This year, we were able to bring in some comedians to campus, our most successful event was Leon Rogers,” Kaderabek said. “That was our highest event this year. We had over 75 people in attendance at that event, it was amazing.”

Kaderabek said the better known the comedian, the more likely students will show up to see them.

The proposed comedy budget will allow for two major comedians, as well as 4 minor comedians.

Other line items within UB with proposed increases are the mainstage committee with a $3,040, marketing-public relations with $1,433, Panther Fest with $6,035, productions with $1,315, special events with $2,000, and movies with $1.

The movies committee is responsible for bringing recent blockbuster films to the school, free to students.

“When we first started out the year, our movies were averaging 300 people between the two days,” Francis said. “It kind of varies between the different movies, we do get really high attendance at some of the movies.”

Panther Fest is a three-day event, which includes the new student mixer, Quakin’ In The Quad, and Up All Night.

Only two line items see a decrease. Ideas and Issues is proposed to see a $9,575 decrease, and Pantherstock is proposed to see a $950 decrease.

For Campus Rec, their proposed budget remained the same.

They are proposing $211,000, which will help cover costs for graduate assistants, student payroll, and equipment repairs.

Campus Recreation has proposed 211,000 since FY2013.

The Apportionment Board will be meeting again to vote and finalize their decisions on the four budgets proposed to them including the student government, Apportionment Board, UB and Campus Rec at 7 p.m. March 26 in the Arcola-Tuscola Room in the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union.

Luis Martinez can be reached at 581-2812 or at [email protected]