Student outreach projects that perform community service in the L.A. area have been struggling with finding funding this year and will continue to see budget cuts next year, which could mean a cut in the services they provide.
Projects funded by the Student Initiated Access Center, which is facing a deficit because of factors such as mandated pay raises and excess transportation costs, will likely see budget cuts next year when the center reevaluates its budget this summer, said D’Artagnan Scorza, access coordinator for the African Student Union, adding that this deficit was outside the center’s control.
The center is funded by student fees as a result of a referendum passed in 2005 called Promoting Understanding and Learning Through Service, or PULSE.
The center is also funded by grants from the community, and state funds when available, though it did not receive any this year, Scorza said.
Scorza said the center spent about $80,000 this past year when it was ordered to increase wages for project directors after the university assessed the directors’ duties and called for a pay raise.
An additional $20,000 went to transportation when the vans the center uses underwent repairs and maintenance, Scorza said.
Scorza said he believes the center should get more funding because it fights for diversity and access to higher education for inner-city youth.
The center is attempting to relieve the deficit by implementing a zero-growth policy, said Angelo Sandoval, a vice chair of the center. The policy means student projects within the center, such as American Indian Recruitment and Xinachtli, a group that encourages academic growth and student development, will receive the same amount of funding they received this year, if not less.
In addition, when the projects submit proposals for annual reevaluation, some will be seeing cuts in their funds.
“No project will be in line for (funding) growth and a number of these projects will be in line for cuts,” Sandoval said.
The cuts for summer allocation will go into effect at the beginning of the summer, and cuts for next year will be determined at the end of summer and go into effect at the beginning of fall quarter, he added.
Mitchell Luu, an access coordinator for the Vietnamese Student Union, said the cuts can hurt the L.A. community because the projects will not be able to expand to additional at-risk school sites, and may even possibly cut school sites.
Luu said the center will only cut projects as a last resort to mitigate costs.
“It’s not what we want to do. (It) won’t help the community,” Luu said. “It’s scary to think about.”
Scorza said the center works to find funding from other sources but cannot sustain itself and is seeking help from the university.
Representatives of the center met with Bob Naples, assistant vice chancellor for student and campus life, and Janina Montero, vice chancellor for student affairs, on Wednesday to discuss the possibility of the university assisting with funding. But no decision was made regarding what role the university will play in the center’s finances.
“They seem to be supportive, but there is no guarantee as of this point that they are going to help,” Scorza said.
The center plans to meet with university officials again within the next two weeks to come up with a definite plan, Scorza said.
“We cannot provide services we would like to (without funds). We cannot have transportation to sites we service. We can’t put on high-yield events,” Luu said.