Editorial: Spending that is out of control

Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2001 | 8:47 a.m.

Last week the Board of Regents did the right thing when it drastically cut the discretionary funding for student government at the Community College of Southern Nevada from $535,000 to $230,000. Student government activities typically don't merit such scrutiny, but this isn't your ordinary student government.

An internal audit in February 2000 found that in 1999 more than $90,000 in student fees went to pay for parties, out-of-state junkets and expensive dinners for student government leaders. It wasn't until July 2001, however, after Sun reporter Jennifer Knight disclosed the audit's findings and reported on other questionable expenditures by CCSN's student government, that CCSN officials took steps to prevent these kinds of abuses.

One corrective measure implemented was a better student advisory structure, but regents still believed it wasn't enough and eventually ordered the reduction last week. The cut means that the fee that CCSN students pay to student government will decrease from $2 per credit hour to 50 cents, which is in line with the other community colleges in the state. The $305,000 cut from student government won't disappear, though, it will be controlled by the community college's president instead. The funds will be spent on projects that will directly benefit students, such as child care services.

There had been years of unchecked spending, but student government leaders opposed the reductions, saying that improvements were being made. But even after all the controversy in the previous months about the questionable expenditures, in November the CCSN student government held a costly $10,000 retreat in Primm to conduct a leadership seminar for 25 student government leaders. That same seminar could have been held at CCSN at little or no cost. The regents made a wise decision to get a grip on what has been out-of-control spending.