Senate Democrats released an alternative plan to rescue the HOPE scholarship that includes awarding a full tuition scholarship to high-achieving students whose families earn up to $140,000 a year.
The income cap would give the full scholarship to 94 percent of Georgia families, Sen. Jason Carter, D-Atlanta, said Wednesday during a public hearing on the subject.
The plan also expands the proposed Zell Miller Scholarship so that it would cover tuition, books and fees for students who graduate in the top 3 percent of their high schools.
The proposal comes a day after the House approved House Bill 326, which is Gov. Nathan Deal’s plan to overhaul the cash-strapped program. The bill moved over to the Senate and a meeting on it is scheduled for 4 p.m.
That bill ties the award amount to lottery revenue, not tuition rates. For this coming fall, it will be 90 percent of current tuition levels, meaning it won’t cover the double-digit tuition increase expected at some colleges. Students also will lose money for books and mandatory fees.
Also, only students who graduate from high school with at least a 3.7 GPA and 1200 SAT score would see all tuition at public colleges covered under the new Zell Miller Scholarship, named after the former governor who created the program.
Deal and others acknowledged their changes will create financial hardships, but said the cuts are the only way to keep the program for future recipients. Without changes, they said, HOPE will go broke because the Georgia Lottery has failed to keep up with the program’s costs as enrollment and tuition rise.
To afford the Democrats’ plan, Carter said they would reduce the commission paid to retailers from 6 percent to 5 percent and order the lottery to increase by 2 percent deposits to education programs.
About the Author
