SGA is not giving more money to the University Program Board to help fund SpringFest after learning of a stockpiled emergency fund.

The debate over a bill at an April 3 SGA meeting centered around the $196,000 fund.

SGA gave $50,000 annually for SpringFest in a deal that ended this year.

Senior Simon Pavlow, chair of SGA’s finance committee at the time the bill was discussed, described the stockpile as a frivolous use of student money. He also found UPB’s accounting disorganized, he said.

“It’s like UPB is holding student money hostage in stockpiling those funds and asking for their usual annual $50,000 for SpringFest from SGA,” Pavlow said.

For five years, SGA gave UPB a $50,000 grant toward SpringFest, former SGA President Chris Petrillo, a senior, said in a Feb. 20 interview.

The temporary deal was put in place to help cover expenses for UPB as they became seperate from SGA, he said.

The gradual reduction measure proposed would have given UPB $40,000 for next year’s SpringFest, $30,000 for the following and $20,000 for the third, according to the bill.

At that point UPB would have to go to SGA again to renegotiate allotments, according to the bill.

The bill would have required an increase in student ticket prices to $15 from $10 and also would have authorized selling more tickets than the amount of students that were allowed to come. Their emergency fund would have been capped at $30,000 by this bill.

Senior and former senator Sam Howley said she thought the bill failed because UPB never provided feedback and expected SGA to vote yes.

“I think it was still difficult for senators to think about UPB continuing to do this and expect SGA to provide more money every year,” Howley said.

Senior Jack Hockman, a member of the UPB concert committee, said funding issues have negatively impacted the quality of artists UPB has been able to get for the concert.

“If they’ve been keeping money out of our concerts all this time, they best be planning on spending that money to get Kendrick,” sophomore Meredith Maloney said.

The bill is being proposed again in the fall, said sophomore Taylor Magda, UPB concert committee member.

“We are currently focused on SpringFest, which is happening next week,” Magda said.