ATLANTA --- State officials are dipping into reserves to help pay for education programs funded by the Georgia Lottery for the first time in nearly a decade, as ticket sales lag behind the growth of the HOPE scholarship and statewide prekindergarten.
At the same time, leaders in the state Senate are pushing to expand the lottery-funded HOPE scholarship to help almost 50,000 poor students pay to attend Georgia's public colleges. A bill that would create a $30 million need-based grant program is getting support from Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle and Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Jack Hill, among other key Republican leaders.
"You could make a pretty good argument it's not the time, but on the other hand it's always the right time to do something to keep kids in college," said Hill, a Republican from Reidsville. "There are a lot of kids in college today who are hanging on by a thread. This ensures we don't lose a whole set of students."
Georgia Student Finance Corp. leaders say the lottery-funded education programs -- including free prekindergarten for thousands of Georgia 3-year-olds, HOPE scholarships and grants for technical college students -- will cost $100 million more than what lottery ticket sales can fund for the fiscal year that begins July 1. That will mean tapping into a $900 million reserve fund for the first time since 2001.
It will also mean reducing textbook stipends for the more than 200,000 college students on the HOPE scholarship starting in 2012, the first step in a series of "triggers" set up by state law to rein in HOPE spending once the cost outpaces available money. The $300-per-year book money would be cut in half for all HOPE recipients who aren't eligible for federal assistance for low-income students, said finance commission president Tim Connell.
THE STATE HAS had to raid the rainy-day account to pay for lottery-funded programs three times in the lottery's 17-year history: in 1997, 1998 and 2001, according to state documents.
Hill's bill to create the need-based HOPE program passed the Senate education committee Wednesday and could be voted on by the full Senate as early as next week. He wants to give needy students up to $700 a year, even if they don't qualify for the HOPE scholarship, which pays for tuition for students with at least a B average.
Cagle praised the bill for helping "deserving students who are most at risk of missing out on educational opportunities because of the economic climate."
Hill said the grants would help a growing number of students who are struggling financially because of the nation's financial meltdown, which has left tens of thousands of Georgians out of work and unable to help pay for their children's education.
But he isn't the only one vying for a piece of the lottery pie.
STATE SCHOOLS SUPERINTENDENT Kathy Cox has called for lottery ticket prices to be raised to help fund K-12 education, which is entitled to lottery money by state law but hasn't gotten any of the ticket revenue since 2003.
Cox, who is running for a third term in office, said last week that lottery money could help soften the blow of hundreds of millions of dollars in cuts to the state's public schools over the past few years.
That move is unlikely and hasn't gained much support since Cox suggested it during a state Board of Education meeting and during an interview with CNN last week.
Comments
Is it just me or is this perspective skewed? Ticket sales aren't lagging behind the growth of these programs. The expansion of these programs is outpacing the ticket sales. THE GOVERNMENT GROWS PROGRAMS FASTER THAN MONEY IS AVAILABLE and then releases a scam perspective notice to the AP about how reserve funds are being raided. Isn't this the exact same logic the federal government used to drain the social security reserves?
Need based? We need to STOP "need based" funding. PELL is already in place, and it is a joke! We need PERFORMANCE based. HOPE needs to be left alone so that there is some money available for students who really want to go to school, whose parents don't qualify for the "free need based money" and who actually WANT to get an education. Stop giving "free money" away with no strings attached. If you are going to reward students, do it based on performance. Has the state forgotten what HOPE stands for? Helping OUTSTANDING Pupils Educationally. It is to reward students who excel!
SPEND ! SPEND ! SPEND ! ….That’s these TURKEYS answer to everything….It should be CUT ! CUT ! CUT !
The article said the Hope is for "poor students." Hardly. I thought the allowable family yearly income was $100 thousand. If that's the case make the requirements tougher and cut out the number of students getting Hope until it reaches the amount of money the lottery takes in.
The fix for this is simple.
1. Stop paying for 3 & 4 year olds to get a free public school education. Public school should start at age 5 - kingergarten. Get rid of the Pre-K program.
2. Raise the Hope qualification standards. Raise the required GPA and also tie it to SAT scores (to keep the artificial high school grade inflation in check).
I sure hope [no pun intended] that "tapping into the reserve," is not one of those "slippery slopes," that ends up with a fund full of IOU's banking on future Lottery money. Hey, that sounds familiar, doesn't it?
Am I the only one who caught that "K-12 education, which is entitled to lottery money by state law but hasn't gotten any of the ticket revenue since 2003". I'd love to have an answer to that. Just last week, I sent to school several boxes of cayrons, reams of copier paper and glue sticks. Teachers are begging for the basics!
As for the "poor folk" it was my understanding that the lottery was started to fund education for ALL, based on GPA. Sit at any ball game or school function and you will hear parents of all walks of life talk about what their child's GPA is in order to get HOPE. Our society today has lost the balance. If you want a higher education you will make it happen REGARDLESS of your finanicial status.
Ticket sales would not be down if some one from Georgia could ever win. But as I have always said, if you do win, take your money all up front, because you never know when the lottery will go bankrupt.
Theman, they take the money and buy an annuity with it. They don't personally fund it.
The State of Georgia needs to tell recipients "This cannot be used for remedial courses, you have to pay for those yourself." WHY is money being wasted on remedial courses for people that got a 3.0 GPA in high school?
Remedial means you aren't the brightest in the class. Just because you had a 3.0 in high school does not mean you made an acceptable score on the SAT. Also, you may not have taken the most challenging classes. Please go to the GA DOE website people before you comment on education. Know the facts before you start commenting because all you do is spread lies and comments and your own ill-informed decision. If you want to know what is going on locally, check the GA DOE website, call your local school board or here is an idea-go to a board meeting! Quit sabotaging the public school system with this nonsense when your ideas and suggestions are welcomed at all board meetings and your participation is encouraged. The students and administrators need your support right now and not a backseat driver who has no idea what is really happening inside the schools. As for the lack of funding by lottery money, that is a great question and instead of posting comments and criticism about it, I am asking my superintendent about it and I am looking first on the GA DOE WEBSITE! It tells you everything about each school board in Georgia and every school. I encourage you to use it!
Why are college books so expensive? They were in the 70's when I was in school and they are even more so now!
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