technical schools in decatur ga Senate Democrats pitch legislation to revisit HOPE; call governors plan iled reform,On Tuesday, Democrats — who hold the minority in the Legislature — filed several bills aimed at revisiting at HOPE scholarship this session. Among their proposals is a bill that would restore an income eligibility cap and another that would make the top 3 percent of all high school graduates eligible for the newly createdZell MillerScholarship, named for the programs patriarch.
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Senate Republicans are also offering ideas on how to address the HOPE scholarship. Earliertechnical schools in decatur ga Senate Democrats pitch legislation to revisit HOPE; call governors plan iled reform this month, Sen. Rick Jefres, R-Locust Grove, proposed legislation that would divert unclaimed state lottery funds to HOPE and pre-K. Currently, unclaimed monies are sent back to the lottery pool for future prizes or programs related to treating gambling addiction.
Georgia has the only merit-based scholarship in the country, Chance said. We obviously want to make the scholarship available to as many deserving students as possible.
ATLANTA — Senate Democrats say Georgias HOPE scholarship is still in crisis and are warning their Republican colleagues that last years GOP-led overhaul of the program is a iled reform that is paying for thousands fewer students to go to college.
I dont believe that HOPE should be an entitlement program for those who need it the least, Carter said.
Theyre going to call it tweaking, Jackson said. Their tweaks will contain many measures that we propose.
It was never created to become or be an entitlement program, Cagle said of HOPE.
The latest estimates from the Georgia Student Finance Commission, which administers HOPE, showed typical students at the University of Georgia would see a 38 percent reduction in their lottery-funded award between now and mid-2015. By then, the student would have to pay $2,732 in expenses every semester. That students HOPE scholarship would cover the remaining $2,461 in costs.
Still, Carter said that he is open to looking at possible changes to the HOPE scholarship and said were always tweaking every program.
HOPE, along with pre-kindergarten, is funded by the state lottery. The cuts were made because lottery proceeds havent kept pace with rising tuition and skyrocketing enrollment and the program was set to go broke.
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The HOPE scholarship was created with an income cap, but it was removed as a political measure of goodwill amid abundant revenues from the state lottery, which fund the program. Now that the lottery can no longer sustain HOPE, Democrats argue it is time to restore the cap. Carters proposal would limit eligibility to milies with an income of $140,000 or less.
Last week, Lt. Gov.Casey Caglesaid that while affordable higher education is critical to the success of the state, Georgia cannot fund the education of every deserving college student.
Sen. Lester Jackson, D-Savannah, said the Democrats proposals are politically viable because quality education matters to all voters, and that Republicans could be receptive to tweaks from the other side. He cited an example last year of a Democratic suggestion to the HOPE legislation that added all high school valedictorians and salutatorians to those who would be guaranteed a scholarship.
Senate Democrats counter that it has become that for students from wealthy milies who attend the best schools. They say the intent of HOPE was always for students who could not afford to go to college.
Sen. Ronnie Chance, R-Tyrone, who serves as one of the governors floor leaders and is on the higher education committee, said he has not yet seen the Democrats legislation, but is sure there will be more discussion in the next few days about where we are.
It is unclear whether the Democrats proposal will gain any traction this session, with last years vote split along party lines and the Legislature up for re-election in 2012.
A HOPE plan that reduces the number of students who get degrees can only be called a ilure, both for our students and our economy, said Sen. Jason Carter, D-Decatur, a leading opponent of last years legislation who has filed two of this years HOPE-related bills. I believe in my heart that this does not have to be a partisan issue.
A lot of them were the some of the same proposals from last year, Carter said. I do not feel that putting a salary cap on the HOPE scholarship helps us keep the best and brightest in our technical schools in decatur gastate.
Last years sweeping changes were a directive of newly elected Gov.Nathan Deal, who made saving HOPE the top priority of his first year in office. Republicans painted a dire picture, threatening the extinction of HOPE absent immediate legislative action. Opponents objections were largely drowned out.
Senate Higher Education Chairman Buddy Carter said on Tuesday that the Legislature accomplished a lot on HOPE last year and that he does not agree with the Democratic proposals.
