The much anticipated start of a new school year rarely begins as fluidly as desired. Such was the case for Iowa State’s Government of the Student Body. Current GSB President Spencer Hughes — just days before the beginning of the fall semester — discovered a $102,000 deficit in one of GSB’s most important accounts, the capital projects fund.

How could such an account fall so far into the red without even the president of GSB knowing?

An inaccurate enrollment count was used for GSB’s 2013 fiscal year, resulting in the organization collecting less money from each student. The difference in money collected per person was insignificant, but amounted to the $102,000 deficit when all students were included.

GSB has a plan for taking care of this enormous deficit by using the funds from one of the less frequently used accounts — formally called an investment account but in actuality a “rainy day” fund — which contains approximately $105,000.

The debt can’t be covered yet, as the decision to move the funds requires a two-thirds vote from the GSB Senate. However, Hughes said he feels confident GSB will have no problem settling this affair.

The capital projects fund normally is used for physical items open for all students to use. Though GSB had no specific plan for the account this year, it is a major loss. The account, which reclaims money not spent during its intended year, brought in $88,000 and $100,000 the last two years respectively.

The $105,000 currently in the rainy day fund is a result of the sale of GSB vehicles. Previously, GSB had needed its own fleet of vehicles, but once the university adopted the policy of letting student organizations borrow cars, those vehicles were sold. Since then, the account has remained relatively untouched with the exception of some expenditure toward Cyclone Cinema and various projects with the Student Union Board.

Regardless of what the money from the rainy day account could have been spent on, it is now gone. Possibly the worst outcome of the mistake is that the reserve account is now empty. Even without a proposed project on which to spend that money, its absence might endanger GSB financially should another problem arise.

Though being informed of the deficit so late was difficult for GSB leaders, Hughes was quick to notify the Daily of the issue so that all students could be informed. It’s a move that shows Hughes’s dedication to transparency.

Hughes has expressed his desire for the actions of the GSB to become fully transparent to students and campus organizations.

“They’re not GSB dollars; they’re students’ dollars, so it’s important that people know about it,” Hughes said.

The vast majority of money GSB collects goes toward funding student organizations on campus. Additionally, GSB uses some money on helpful things such as the bike pump stations that can now be found around campus. No matter what organization or project student fees go toward, all of GSB’s actions need to be apparent to students in order for them to make informed decisions.

The Government of the Student Body has an obligation of transparency and so, too, do students have an obligation to be aware of what’s happening with their hard-earned dollars. Taking steps toward transparency and openness will only improve the relationship between students and their government, leading to a more efficient use of student fees.