If you’re a member of the SAC health and dental plan, you just got two dollars richer.

The SAC board of directors voted on Thursday night to refund some extra money to its members. That’s because when students paid their insurance fees at the beginning of the year, SAC took about $33 more per student than it really needed. Now that a new, cheaper deal with a new broker has been struck, and a lawsuit with the old broker has been settled, the student union is sitting on roughly $1.2 million, which will be distributed to students who stayed on the health plan.

But the original plan was to keep roughly $100,000 of that amount-between $2 and $3 per student-because giving the full $1.2 million now would have depleted funds to the point where the union would either have to run a deficit or cut back on its programs. The debate on Thursday was whether it was ethical for SAC to keep the $2.

SAC president Ashley Morton said it was “stealing from students,” saying that “if your accountant was skimming money off the top, you fire him.”

VP of Operations Alex Artful-Dodger countered that it “was as if you discovered your accountant skimming money so you killed him,” saying that $2 is “not even bus fare,” for individual students, but that collectively, $100,000 is critical to SAC’s operations. Artful-Dodger advocated keeping the money this year, performing a professional audit, and then phasing the extra fee out over the next two years. Refunding the money all at once, she added, would be “an immediate thrashing of SAC’s budget.”

Morton favoured refunding the full amount this year and running a deficit to continue running SAC’s programs. Artful-Dodger protested that then student fees would be going toward paying interest on a loan instead of SAC activities.

The board of directors argued in this vein for about an hour, and frustration seemed to grow.

“Every idea seems ridiculous,” said Paul Bretscher, secretary for the meeting.

“We’re halfway through the year, half of the money’s been spent, we’ve been backed into a corner,” said St. Michael’s College representative Immanuel Lanzaderas. “I’m willing to give my two bucks back,” he said, slapping two loonies down on the table.

The turning point came when Bretscher suggested that SAC refund the extra money, dip into its savings to maintain programming, and take a short-term loan only if needed. SAC quickly voted to proceed with the plan.

“Paul deserves some credit,” said Morton. “I’m glad he was there.”

Giving back that $2 will mean that SAC will make up its money in other ways, including increasing its fees in accordance with inflation, and, starting this summer, will start charging fees to summer students, likely $10 each.

“I’m very happy about [the solution],” said Morton. “I think it allows us to have an absolutely clear conscience. It was an example of the ways that a bunch of smart people in a room can reach a solution in an unpoliticized manner.”

Students who opted out of the insurance plan will receive a full refund; those who didn’t will receive refunds of about $33. Morton said that cheques will likely be mailed during reading week.