by Brent Frazier
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - A proposed plan to slash in half some Hope Scholarships isn't sitting well with some of the state's top education advocates.
"(This outcome) will be make-or-break for some. For others, it will simply add to the mountain of debt," said Al Mance, executive director of the Tennessee Education Association.
He hopes lawmakers will find other places to cut, in the interest of sparing the soon-to-be-bankrupt state lottery fund.
Members of the bipartisan
Lottery Stabilization Task Force -- comprised of lawmakers, the state's
constitutional officers and higher education officials -- voted unanimously
Tuesday to reduce by 50 percent the lottery scholarship awards for students who
do not meet both the standardized testing and high school grade requirements.
Right now, students must
either earn a 3.0 GPA or score a 21 on their ACT to qualify for a scholarship
worth $4,000 for each of the four years.
Students who attend a
four-year institution and meet one of the criteria would get a two-year award
amount, under the plan. Those who meet one of the criteria and retain the award
through year two would be eligible for a full award in year three.
Under the proposal,
students attending community colleges wouldn't be affected.
For youngsters like Kierra Chandler, a senior at a private Christian high school, the prospect of not having a Hope Scholarship to lean on for college money is daunting.
But Chandler insists her parents are adamant about her furthering her education; not having Hope Scholarship money, she said, would simply mean more of a financial burden on her shoulders.
"Maybe an extra job for me, that I need to help pay. Or, maybe I wouldn't be able to go to the number-one school, something like that," she explained.
The plan is estimated to
generate about $13 million in savings the first year and $17 million each year thereafter.
Currently, the cost of the
scholarship program is outpacing lottery revenues. To make up the difference in
the short term, the state has dipped into the lottery reserves. If nothing is
done, state officials estimate the lottery reserve balance could dwindle to
about $145 million by 2021, including the $50 million that state law requires
remain in reserve for the program.
The task force recommended
maintaining a minimum reserve balance of $100 million in the future.
It also voted for a
four-year delay in implementation of the plan to give students in eighth grade
or below plenty of time to adjust to the changes.
"It certainly gives
advance notice to any student early on in their years in high school, so that
takes that issue off the table that it was abrupt," said Richard Rhoda,
executive director of the Tennessee Higher Education Commission and a member of
the panel.
Critics have said the
scholarship reductions would disproportionately affect African-American
students and those who attend Tennessee Board of Regents schools, but officials
believe annually putting an additional $10 million toward Tennessee Student Assistant
Awards -- which are used to help need-based students -- should help those
students.
"I think putting
significant money into that particular program is where we're going to pick it
up," said Republican State Sen. Delores Gresham of Somerville, who headed
the task force and is also chairwoman of the Senate Education Committee.
The panel also voted for
any bonuses proposed by the Lottery Corporation be approved by the State
Funding Board.
Sen. Randy McNally, who
made the recommendation, said he doesn't believe the Lottery Corporation is
doing an inadequate job, but that he'd just like to see some checks and
balances in place.
"I'd certainly like
the Legislature, through the funding board, to have a little bit more input on
where the incentives are placed," said the Oak Ridge Republican.
The panel's proposals will
be considered by the full General Assembly when lawmakers return in January.
Email: bfrazier@newschannel5.com
(The Associated Press Contributed To This Report.)
