Congressmen in Georgia have initiated a plan designed to preserve the state”s Helping Outstanding Pupils Educationally scholarship program (HOPE), which has recently experienced fiscal difficulties including a projected deficit of $434 million.
The Georgia Lottery for Education provided the fund with $2.1 billion, which has been awarded to roughly 700,000 students over the past decade.
The HOPE scholarship, created by Governor Zell Miller in 1993, gives students who graduate from public and private Georgia high schools with a ‘B’ average financial coverage of tuition and fees if the student attends a public technical college or an eligible public or private university in the state. The program also covers a $300 book allowance.
Derrick Dickey, spokesman for Governor Sonny Perdue”s office, said the HOPE program is currently experiencing tremendous growth. While increasing tuition at universities within the state is a factor in the financial pull on the program, an increase in student enrollment also plays a major part.
‘We constantly have to expand our university system to capture the growth,’ Dickey said. ‘In essence, the success of the program is putting the fiscal strain on the lottery revenues that fund the program.’
The state has enacted a freeze on fees that do not include tuition, which will hold the amount of money HOPE awards students with at this year”s current rate. As fees increase annually, students will have to pay the difference, Dickey said.
Should the lottery revenue in the following year continue to decline, various aspects of the HOPE program will be phased out in order to accommodate the decreasing amounts of available funds.
‘When we start to dip into our reserves in the next fiscal year, we”ll cut the amount of money provided for books from $300 to $150,’ Dickey said.
He said money provided for books in the following year would be cut out if necessary.
‘The next year, if we were to lose more money, we would completely phase out the provided fees,’ he said.
As of now, students would continue to receive complete tuition awards unless, after the next three years, the program would need to tap into its constitutional reserves. However, Dickey said the state is adamant about making sure full tuition payment continues.
Georgia Democratic Lt. Governor Mark Taylor issued a statement expressing his concern over the proposed changes in the HOPE program.
‘In my travels around the state, it was clear that students were very worried about unnecessary cuts to books and fees,’ he said. ‘I am concerned that the triggered removal of books and fees breaks our agreement with the people.’
The bill has passed both the house and senate and presently awaits Gov. Perdue”s approval. Should it pass, the changes in the HOPE program would take place beginning with the next fiscal year.
Categories:
HOPE program struggles with funding restrictions
by Eve Penzer
April 18, 2004
Advertisements
0
Donate to The Badger Herald
Your donation will support the student journalists of University of Wisconsin-Madison. Your contribution will allow us to purchase equipment and cover our annual website hosting costs.
More to Discover