Departments across campus will be affected by state budget cuts, including the Student Government Association.

SGA faces budget cuts because of a state shortfall that will require the university to cut 4 percent of its budget.

It will be the first time that SGA will have to cut its budget in the middle of an academic year, SGA President Johnathon Boles said.

The amount that needs to be cut hasn’t been made official yet by the state, but Western officials sent faculty and staff an e-mail which said the cuts will probably amount to 4 percent, said Charley Pride, director of student activities and faculty advisor for SGA.

All the money cut will go directly back to the state, Pride said.

Boles said Pride told him last Tuesday after the e-mail was sent that SGA should be prepared for 4 percent cuts, along with all departments.

“SGA is just like any other group,” Boles said.

Boles and Administrative Vice President Reagan Gilley made the decision about what to cut from SGA’s budget.

“We chose what would affect the least amount of people,” Gilley said.

Although the cuts will be a loss, SGA will still be able to successfully operate with less money because its budget has sometimes fluctuated over the years, Gilley said.

“I still think SGA will be able to do what it needs to do well,” he said.

It was important to make sure that money that was already locked into programs, like scholarships and Provide-A-Ride, was not cut, Gilley said.

There was an excess of $2,600 in the SGA retreat budget because SGA’s fall retreat took place on campus. That was the first thing to be cut, Gilley said.

To reach the $4,100 needed for a 4 percent cut, $1,500 was cut from organizational aid, Gilley said.

SGA’s budget at the beginning of the semester was $110,000. So far this year, $16,913 has been spent, Gilley said.

There is about $34,000 left in the org aid budget, Gilley said.

If the senate needs more money for org aid, it can transfer money from another part of the budget, Gilley said.

Boles addressed the senate at Tuesday’s meeting about the budget cuts. He said he plans to send a copy of that address to all students this week.

Boles said he will continue to fight for the affordability of higher education and encouraged students to do the same.

Boles said he is working with the Political Engagement Project to get charter buses to send students to a rally in Frankfort on Feb. 3 to protest budget cuts in higher education.