SGA to Begin Providing Financial Compensation for Members

This year, for the very first time, Skidmore’s Student Government Association will begin providing financial compensation to some of its members. Nine students that occupy the highest ranking and most time consuming positions in SGA will each receive a total of $1,500 in compensation for this academic year.

The nine positions receiving compensation this year are the SGA President, Executive Vice President, Vice President for Academic Affairs, Vice President for Financial Affairs, Vice President for Student Life, Vice President for Club Affairs, Vice President for Institutional Diversity, Vice President for Engagement and Outreach, and the Student Events Council Chair. Information about current officeholders and descriptions of their duties can be found here.

The funding for SGA officer compensation was included as part of the SGA’s 2026-2027 annual operating budget, which the SGA Senate approved last April. The budget total is $1,069,643, of which $13,500 has been allocated for compensation. Prior to the budget’s approval, SGA officer compensation received a favorable recommendation from the Budget and Finance Committee.  The Committee is responsible for creating the budget that is presented to the SGA Senate, which they edit and then vote on.

SGA’s annual operating budget. SGA officer compensation is shown in yellow.

The proposal to include compensation in the budget received broad support from senators, including many that had been elected and are now serving in positions receiving compensation. Among the supporters was former Sophomore Senator, and current SGA President, Dylan Kostbar ‘28. Kostbar stated that she would not be able to dedicate as much time to the role of SGA President if compensation was not approved. According to Kostbar, not receiving compensation would force her to pick up extra work shifts, which she finds less personally fulfilling than SGA.

SGA officer compensation was also a key issue during the SGA elections last spring, particularly in the race for the position of Vice President for Financial Affairs. During the debate, candidates Jonathan Lipman ‘27 and Austin Zhang ‘29 stated their opposition to providing compensation for SGA officers. The stance of the eventual winner, current Vice President for Financial Affairs Raahim Latif Khan ‘28, was not clearly established during the debate. However, after his election, Khan later voiced his support for the proposal at the SGA Senate meeting where the budget was approved.

Proponents of SGA officer compensation argued that it would make SGA more inclusive by removing financial barriers, allowing students who work campus jobs to spend more time participating in SGA. They have also claimed that it would foster a more professional environment, and pointed to Skidmore’s peer institutions, many of which provide compensation for their respective student governments.

Opponents countered that SGA should not take money away from clubs and student services to pay its members when its budget is funded by all students. Additionally, they claimed that compensation may motivate people to run for office for the wrong reasons, and have pointed out that the budget is not approved until after elections take place, meaning that students who would rely on compensation do not know if they will receive it when deciding to run or not.

The SGA first received the authority to compensate its members back in April of 2024, when Article IX was added to the SGA bylaws as part of the governing document review process that took place during that academic year. Article IX, titled “SGA Officer Compensation Policies and Procedures” outlines which positions are eligible for compensation, the maximum amount each position can receive, and the schedule for payments to be dispersed to SGA officers.

Although SGA had the authority to pay its members for the past two years, in both of those prior years, SGA decided not to. Both the 2024-2025 and 2025-2026 budget recommendations from the Budget and Finance Committee did not include any funding for SGA officer compensation, and in neither instance did the SGA Senate vote to add it to the final budget. This was because doing so would have required cuts to be made in other areas, which was not considered financially feasible nor possible given the tight budget deadline.

Almost every position in SGA is eligible for compensation, but each position falls into one of three tiers, each with a different maximum rate of compensation. Each tier can be individually set at a rate equal to or below the maximum rate, including zero, but all positions within a tier must be compensated the same amount. The placement of positions in different tiers is meant to reflect the time commitment each position requires, which varies substantially between the highest and lowest paid positions.

Tier One, which is the only tier receiving compensation this year, has a maximum rate of $1,500 per year, and includes the SGA President, Vice Presidents, and SEC Chair. Tier Two, which has a maximum rate of $700 per year, includes the SEC Vice Chair, SEC Treasurer, SEC Co-Chairs, and Senior Class President. Tier Three, which has a maximum rate of $500 per year, includes the Junior, Sophomore, and First-Year Class Presidents, Senators, Subcommittee Chairs, and Judicial Board Officers. For this year, Tiers Two and Three have been set at a rate of zero, meaning they will not receive any compensation.

Outline of SGA compensation tiers. Tier One is shown on the left.

According to the compensation schedule, SGA officers receive their compensation in four installments throughout the year, each of which is equal to one-fourth of the total amount. The earliest payment is to be issued on the first Monday in October, the next on the first Monday in December, the next on the first Monday in March, and the final on the first Monday in May. SGA officers may only receive compensation if they are currently in office on the specific date that the payment is to be made, meaning that SGA officers who resign to go abroad for a semester will only receive half of the total amount their position is entitled to.

Eligible SGA officers are slated to receive their first payment of $375 on October 5th. Any student who wishes to provide feedback on this matter or any other should make their voice heard by attending an SGA Senate meeting and participating in open forum. The SGA Senate meets every Tuesday at 8:00pm on the second floor of the Murray-Aikins Dining Hall.