A day after the Georgia House overwhelmingly approved an overhaul of the HOPE scholarship, Democrats and college students attacked the bill and released alternative plans to restore the cuts.
Senate Democrats proposed giving full tuition scholarships to high-achieving students whose families earn up to $140,000 a year. The income cap would provide full scholarships to 94 percent of Georgia families, Sen. Jason Carter, D-Atlanta, said Wednesday.
The plan also tweaks 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, he said. About 10 percent of HOPE recipients would qualify for this, Carter estimated.
The suggestions countered the changes outlined in House Bill 326, which is Gov. Nathan Deal’s plan to overhaul the cash-strapped program. The bill, which had bipartisan support in the House, moved to the Senate.
The bill looks at students' grades and does not take income into account. It ties the award to lottery revenue, not tuition rates, so it could vary annually. 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 would lose money for books and mandatory fees.
Only students who graduate from high school with at least a 3.7 GPA and 1200 SAT score would have full tuition covered under the proposed Zell Miller Scholarship in the governor's plan. Deal estimated 10 percent of current recipients would be eligible for the award.
The two plans represent philosophical differences. Republicans have all but ruled out an income cap for eligibility.
"We believe HOPE should be merit-based," said Brian Robinson, the governor's spokesman. "Georgians will prefer the Deal plan and we're confident the votes will be a testament to this."
The bill was assigned to the Senate higher education committee, which met Wednesday and is scheduled to meet again Thursday.
The chairman, Sen. Jim Butterworth, R-Cornelia, said he's open to suggestions from everyone. He encouraged people to act quickly so as not to delay action on HOPE.
Earlier Wednesday, more than 100 college and high school students protested the job lawmakers have done so far on HOPE. They chanted "Kill that bill!" and "Shame on you!"
Myeia Bautista, a freshman at Georgia State University, said the cuts will force her to drop out. Bautista, the first in her family to graduate high school, relies on HOPE, a job and loans to afford college.
"HOPE is my life, it’s my lifeline," she said. "I’m already in debt and I just started college. They aren’t just cutting a scholarship, they’re killing my dream."
High school sophomore Omer Finley has a 3.3 GPA but wondered how he could increase his grades to a 3.7 GPA to have all tuition covered. He is planning to ask his teachers at Horizons School in Atlanta for extra credit work. He may take easier courses to improve his grades but worried that would hurt his chance of getting into a top-ranked college.
"I feel like they are putting limits on my education and they have no right to do that," he said.
Deal and others acknowledged the changes may create financial hardships, but said the cuts are the only way to keep the program. HOPE is going broke because the Georgia Lottery has failed to keep up with the program’s costs as enrollment and tuition rise, they said.
This year, 236,124 students are receiving HOPE at a cost of $639.6 million.
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 the deposits to education programs.
HB 326 set the retailers' commission at 6 percent. It is currently 7 percent. While the bill did not order an increase in lottery education deposits, it ties bonuses for lottery employees to the amount deposited and says none will be given in years when there is no net increase.
About the Author
