Book money cuts tied to decline in lottery revenues
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 04/08/04
After months of study and political grandstanding, state lawmakers approved a plan late Wednesday night that they say should preserve the popular HOPE scholarship for a decade.
The plan, which passed the House 164-3 and the Senate 32-21, sets a tougher academic standard for HOPE scholars by 2007. It also sets up a plan to cut allowances HOPE recipients get for books and student fees if the lottery-funded program runs into financial trouble.
House Higher Education Committee Chairwoman Louise McBee (D-Athens), who co-chaired a HOPE study committee last year, declared it "a happy day for Georgia."
The bill, which now goes to the governor's desk, would require that students have a 3.0 grade-point average to qualify for a HOPE scholarship in 2007. A 3.0 is a tougher standard than the number grade used to determine the current requirement of a B average or better. A bipartisan study commission found that the standard for a B average was not uniform statewide.
The legislation also attempts to address predictions that lottery proceeds will drop and cut into HOPE's funding. If lottery revenues decline for a single year, the student allowance for books would be cut in half. In a second year of declining revenues, the book allowance would be eliminated. And if revenues were to slide a third year, the allowance for student fees would be eliminated.
Exceptions would be made so the state's poorest students could keep the book allowance.
Another provision in the bill puts an immediate freeze on scholarship awards for student fees, which the study committee found vary greatly by institution.
The HOPE scholarship has helped more than 700,000 students attend a college, university or technical school in its near 11-year history. Republican Gov. Sonny Perdue and Democratic Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor have been at odds throughout the legislative session on its potential changes.
Perdue initially proposed linking eligibility for HOPE to the SAT, but found little support for that idea. Taylor argued that there was no need to rush to change the program based on recent lottery sales.
In a statement issued late Wednesday, Taylor, who is expected to run against Perdue in 2006, said cutting allowances for books and fees while toughening scholarship requirements "breaks our agreement with the people."
"Essentially, we are asking our students to work harder for less," he said.
Perdue said the Legislature has "made great strides toward preserving the HOPE scholarship for future generations."
"The plan passed today will maintain HOPE through at least 2010," the governor said in a prepared statement.
SAVINGS OUTLINED
Deal reached by House and Senate negotiators on HOPE:
• Requires 3.0 grade-point average, effective summer 2007. Replaces B average requirement. Projected annual savings: $41 million
• If lottery revenues decline for one year, cuts book allowance by 50 percent, effective as early as mid-2005. Projected annual savings:
$22 million
• If lottery revenues fall for two years, eliminates book allowances. Projected annual savings: $45 million
• Freezes fee allowances to amounts paid this past Jan. 1. If lottery revenues drop for three years, eliminates fee allowances. Projected annual savings if eliminated: $77 million
Source: Georgia Student Finance
Commission
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