2008 Woodie Awards
Letter to the Editor: In response to 'Community Budget Meeting' from Jan. 28
Issue date: 2/11/05 Section: Forum
- Page 1 of 1
To The Guilfordian,
I am writing in response to a comment made in the quite excellent article in the January 28th issue about the budget process and community meeting.
The student was quoted as saying, "These meetings are hard, decisions have already been made and there is little traditional students can do to impact it." That is very misleading.
1. The treasurer of community senate is a member of the budget committee. We even invited a second traditional student to join our committee this year although the senate appointed only one. The treasurer or his representative was present throughout our deliberations that began very early in the fall semester, and joined in the consensus recommendation of the budget to President Chabotar.
2. In addition, the budget committee convened not one but two open meetings on the budget (November 4 and January 19) to which all members of our community, including traditional students, were invited and came. We also invited community member to contact individual committee members
if they wanted their input to be confidential.
3. Last year, the budget committee sponsored an electronic suggestion box for anonymous input but received only three responses so it was discontinued this year.
4. Finally, the vice president for finance published in the Beacon a very informative letter months ago that previewed the budget as the process was starting.
Of course, in a free society, everyone is entitled to their opinion but
I felt that another viewpoint was essential to this discussion about how significantly students are involved in the budget process at Guilford College.
Regards,
Raymond Johnson
Associate Professor of Accounting
I am writing in response to a comment made in the quite excellent article in the January 28th issue about the budget process and community meeting.
The student was quoted as saying, "These meetings are hard, decisions have already been made and there is little traditional students can do to impact it." That is very misleading.
1. The treasurer of community senate is a member of the budget committee. We even invited a second traditional student to join our committee this year although the senate appointed only one. The treasurer or his representative was present throughout our deliberations that began very early in the fall semester, and joined in the consensus recommendation of the budget to President Chabotar.
2. In addition, the budget committee convened not one but two open meetings on the budget (November 4 and January 19) to which all members of our community, including traditional students, were invited and came. We also invited community member to contact individual committee members
if they wanted their input to be confidential.
3. Last year, the budget committee sponsored an electronic suggestion box for anonymous input but received only three responses so it was discontinued this year.
4. Finally, the vice president for finance published in the Beacon a very informative letter months ago that previewed the budget as the process was starting.
Of course, in a free society, everyone is entitled to their opinion but
I felt that another viewpoint was essential to this discussion about how significantly students are involved in the budget process at Guilford College.
Regards,
Raymond Johnson
Associate Professor of Accounting
