NATALIE SMITH | Asst. News Editor
Butler University’s financial office and the Student Government Association are looking at potential changes in their budgets for the upcoming school year.
The university is working on an operating budget proposal to give to the Board of Trustees in early May.
There may be some slight changes in money allocation, but the budget and specifics are not yet finalized, said Bruce Arick, vice president of finance and administration.
The university is working on the budget with a focus on President James Danko’s 2020 vision, Arick said.
The university is planning how it will deploy the dollars that are focused on moving it toward that vision for Butler in the future.
In the 2013-2014 school year, Butler had a budget of more than $195 million.
Seventy-six percent of that amount came from tuition. More than ten percent came from room and board, and about six percent came from auxiliaries such as athletics, Clowes Hall, Aramark and other sources, according to the budget.
Butler’s highest expense was financial aid. The university gave 28 percent of its budget to merit, need and talent-based scholarships. This left the university with $150 million in its budget, Arick said.
Instruction is the next highest expense at 25 percent. However, there are no exact numbers regarding how the money is spent.
“There is flexibility,” Arick said. “We’re obviously trying to address our operations as holistically as possible. We’re recognizing that we need to balance what we’re spending.”
SGA is also working on its budget for the 2014-2015 school year.
There are no major projected changes in budgets as of now, said Chad Pingel, vice president of finance and president-elect.
Near the end of the semester and over the summer, the board of vice presidents will give an assessment of how money was spent and what they need for next year.
This school year, SGA had $765,000 to work with. The money comes from the student activity fee, which is $144 per student per semester. SGA also has some money saved in a rollover account for projects on campus, Pingel said.
The highest expense for SGA is its program board at more than $395,000. The program board puts on various events for students throughout the year. The concert fund of program board spends $150,000 of that budget with a focus on the ButlerPalooza concert in the fall.
Throughout the school year, the budget and money allocation cannot be changed because the student assembly already voted on it.