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	Longer hours, more pay for SGA

	Student government gets pay Îadjustmentâ of $300 extra per month

	By Perry Swanson The Metropolitan


	Members of Metroâs Student Government Assembly got final approval last week to increase their work schedule from five to 15 hours per week and adjust their pay from $200 to $500 per month. SGA members said they requested the adjustment because most of them were already working at least 15 hours a week, but were only paid for five. The extra money, which would come from the office of Student Life, will increase SGAâs budget by about $35,000. SGA represents the primary source of income for most of the members, said SGA President Karmin Trujillo. ãItâs more of a part-time job instead of something just on the side theyâre doing that looks good,ä Trujillo said. ãItâs making us more accountable.ä


	Yolanda Ortega-Ericksen, the dean of Student Life agreed. ãThe college counts on Student Government members to represent student concerns,ä Ortega-Ericksen said. ãItâs unreasonable to expect that they would do that on just five hours a week.ä Questions arose before the measure was approved on whether reworking the pay structure would violate SGAâs constitution. The constitution says ãincreases

ãThe college counts on student government members to represent student concerns. itâs unreasonable to expect they would do that on just five hours a week.ä

÷ Yolanda Ortega-Ericksen,
dean of Student Life

in compensation may only take effect on the first day of the term of office following the vote.ä

The student government members were elected last April and began their terms May 1. Now ÷ well after the first day of the term ÷ the compensation change is already in effect.

But Gabriel Hermelin, vice president of Campus Communications, said the SGA did not violate the constitution because it is a pay ãadjustment,ä not an increase.

The group agreed at a retreat in May that they wanted to work more hours and assure they were paid for all the hours they work. Before the change, their pay rate translated to $10 per hour. Now, itâs about $8.33 per hour.

Before the change, SGAâs annual budget was $47,185, including $28,800 for payroll. The adjustment will increase the annual budget by 74 percent. SGA voted on Aug. 6 for members to get a monthly stipend rather than a strict hourly rate, with the option to prorate the stipend if a member reports they didnât work all 15 hours.

Previously, SGA members were not paid for any work done outside the office. The five hours they were paid for only included time spent in the office. Basically, the members were attending meetings and other school functions for free.

Now student leaders will receive a $500 monthly stipend and will be asked to work 10 hours more a week than required before. These additional hours can include activities outside the office such as attending meetings, speaking to constituents on the telephone or helping at school-sponsored events.

SGA member Teresa Harper, the vice president of Diversity, hesitated to agree to the change because of the increased hours. Harper said she was unsure if she could continue with SGA under the new system because her schedule was too full already. Harper said she couldnât work 15 hours a week all from the SGA office.
Harper decided to stay when the members agreed to count time worked outside the office.

ãTeresa Harper is one of the most qualified students on this campus to do this job,ä said John Gaskell, SGA vice-president of Student Services, at an Aug. 6 SGA meeting. ãWe shouldnât punish her for decisions weâre making now, and we shouldnât punish the students who voted for her and want her to represent them.ä