The University of Kansas Student Senate Finance Council unanimously approved a $706,832 block funding package Wednesday evening for the 2026-27 academic year, or fiscal year 2027, allocating money to 18 campus groups, including two new recipients.
The total is roughly $28,000 less than the current fiscal year, according to the Student Senate Budget Book. Block funding comes from the Student Senate Activity Fee, which students pay as part of the Required Student Fee each semester.
The Finance Council amended the package before approving it, stripping $1,500 from the University Daily Kansan’s allocation and redirecting it to Alternative Breaks to fund student wages.
Senator Evanna Dominic introduced the amendment, citing the organization’s productivity and community service contributions. The change brings Alternative Breaks’ total to $19,500 and the Kansan’s total to $98,500.
Alternative Breaks Executive Director Sarah McCoy said the additional funding will support three paid positions next year: executive director, managing director and public relations director.
“I wish they had more money to allocate to really important student organizations that are doing a lot of really important work in the community,” McCoy said. “But I’m grateful that we were able to get just a little bit more. It’s going to help us compensate our people who work tirelessly all the time to provide service opportunities for students all over the KU student body.”
How the package was built
The Block Funding Review Committee initially passed the package on March 13. During those deliberations, the Kansan and Undergraduate Mock Trial were added as block funding entities for the first time.
The Kansan received $100,000 after being removed from the Required Student Fee, an amount the committee said would have been equivalent to $2.15 per student in fee dollars.
Mock Trial, however, was zeroed out. The committee voted to return the organization to line-item funding.
Line-item funding allows KU groups to reserve funds for the following academic year. It provides a pre-approved lump sum intended for special events or programs, according to the Student Senate funding guide.
Of the 18 entities, only the Wingspan Center for Learning and Writing Support received an increase, gaining $1,000 for a total of $8,000. The committee said that funding should go entirely toward weekend academic support.
The Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs saw the steepest cut, dropping $59,418 from $88,582, returning the organization to its fiscal year 2024 amount.
Before setting allocations, the committee established funding priorities. With three-fourths or more in favor of each vote, members voted to protect student wages, prioritize funds for current operations, avoid pushing entities toward line funding and examine which programs Student Senate should support rather than the university.
The Spencer Museum of Art was initially allocated $45,000, then reduced to $30,000 following a recommendation from Student Senate Treasurer Charlie Stephenson, who said that proposed allocations exceeded the committee’s budget.
Block committee member Jeff Brooker then motioned to redirect $5,000 in savings to the museum, with $2,500 taken from Student Senate administration and the other half from the Lied Center. Brooker’s motion brought the museum’s total up to $35,000.
Student Support and Case Management received its first-ever Required Student Fee allocation this cycle. Because the RSF committee was concerned that SSCM might not receive sufficient funding to function and grow, it sent a resolution to the block committee recommending additional support.
The block committee followed this resolution and allocated $35,000, bringing SSCM’s total to $81,351, about $705 more than in fiscal year 2026.
After two rounds of discussion, the committee allocated $17,000 to Alternative Breaks, a decrease of $3,460 from the prior year.
Block committee member Tanya Singh included a resolution requesting that the organization provide reasons why certain student staff positions are paid, and others are not, to improve transparency in future funding reviews.
The Big Event, which previously received block funding in fiscal year 2024 before shifting to Wednesday Night and line funding, returned to block funding and was allocated $5,050.
“I feel like we should either fully fund or at least close to fully fund this event because I feel like there are multiple aspects that are important. The publicity is one, but also how much it actually helps the community,” committee member Victoria Hunter said. “They mentioned how much money they were contributing to the community, so I think it’s important that we at least have it mostly funded to what they’re requesting.”
University Dance Company’s allocation was cut from $7,000 to $4,000 following Stephenson’s recommendation. That money will fund student wages and music permissions.
Finance Council Chair Nathan Binshtok will present the amended package at the Students’ Assembly on April 1.
This article was edited by Head News Editor Elliot Akerstrom. If the information in this article needs to be corrected, please contact elliot.akerstrom@ku.edu.