HOPE cuts
not as deep as feared
The
Associated Press
Published on:
03/15/04
College students of Georgia, relax. The
HOPE scholarship trims adopted by lawmakers Monday won't include the books and
fees covered now by the lottery-funded program. In fact, the deepest cuts won't
start until 2008 — when today's eighth graders head to college.
The
House and Senate both approved HOPE cuts, a rare show of cooperation that
underlies the political importance of the popular, but expensive, scholarships
and technical college grants.
The biggest money-saver would be a
shift in the way officials determine the "B" average required to get the
scholarship. Starting in 2008, high school seniors would need a 3.0 grade point
average, not an 80 numerical average.
The change would save money
because thousands of students are thought to have an 80 or higher average but
not a 3.0 GPA, because in many schools an 80 score is too low to earn a
B.
"It will eliminate some students and allow us some savings, but
we also think students will rise to that new standard," said Sen. Bill Hamrick,
R-Carrollton, sponsor of the Senate bill.
Lawmakers are looking for
ways to trim HOPE because the scholarship is growing faster than lottery
revenues that fund it. If nothing is done, economists warn, the program would be
bankrupt by the end of the decade. Legislators have called the HOPE reforms the
most pressing issue of the term.
"This is most crucial piece of
legislation you will vote on this session," said Rep. Louise McBee, D-Athens,
sponsor of the House version. The House approved the bill 168-1. The Senate vote
was closer, 33 to 23.
The House and Senate reforms were mostly
similar, with slight differences in the way books and fees would be
handled.
The House called for freezing fees at current levels, so
if colleges raised fees in the future, students would have to pay the
difference. And book payments could decrease if the year-end balance of the HOPE
fund dips.
Senators called for similar triggers if the year-end
balance dipped but did not freeze mandatory
fees.