A unified Student Government Association (SGA) passed a budget for next year that cuts funding from Frog Aides and spends a quarter of a million dollars on the fall concert.

The whopping total of $945,000 will come from student government fees that students pay at the beginning of each semester.

“I think this is funding SGA initiatives in the best way and in the best amount,” said Julia Laswell, the student body treasurer-elect and a sophomore finance major. “I’m glad we passed a bill that makes everyone involved happy.”

Frog Aides redesigned

The House relabeled Frog Aides as an “SGA affiliate organization” in H.B. 110-16. Frog Aides will no longer receive blanket funding.

In the fiscal year 2024, Frog Aides received $18,250 to spend on projects, retreats and marketing. This year, the group will have to apply for money through the Finance Board like all other student organizations.

“We wanted them to be autonomous and run themselves,” said Chief of Staff Ash Harris, a senior anthropology major, at the SGA meeting Tuesday night.

The relationship won’t be “broken-off,” said Joe Winick, the student body president. The junior political science major said he thinks Frog Aides will still serve as a pipeline for first-years to join SGA.

The new label preserves the group’s leadership structure by keeping the organization under SGA’s wing, Winick said.

“The heart of the program remains unchanged,” said Ryan Murray, next year’s Frog Aides co-director and a sophomore political science major. “Frog Aides will continue to operate as it has for the past 20 years.”

SGA added $15,750 to student organization funding, racking up a grand total of $148,500 for clubs on campus.

The House will also spend $250,000 on the fall concert. Student body officers said they hope to hire an artist like Kesha or Flo Rida next year.