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Thursday, August 13, 2009New Century Scholarship
By Lyle Hillyard
Senate Chair of Executive Appropriations I have received many negative comments from students and parents about the recent reduction in the money available to fund the New Century Scholarship program. The education fund has been hit by the loss of state revenue, like most other state programs. Revenue from income taxes to the Education and Uniform School Funds dropped 21% from Fiscal Year (FY) 2009 to FY 2010. By our state constitution, public and higher education is funded with these income taxes. Yet, public and higher education budgets dropped only 10.5%. This is largely due to legislative efforts to cut in other areas and shift those savings into education. We are facing a budget session this upcoming January where we expect to be at least $700.0 M short of balancing our budget. If we used all of the Rainy Day funds and the other $100.0 M of one-time money that we set aside several years ago for this reduction, we will still be about $200.0 M short (about another 4% cut) with nothing in reserve for the 2012 budget. I hear fairly consistently, from many different groups, that I should immediately access the Rainy Day fund for their program, with little thought of the many other demands that are out there that should all be considered in the final reallocation. Regarding the New Century scholarships, the Legislature cut $172,000 from the New Century Scholarship program from FY 2009 to FY 2010. That's 8%. On average, programs across the board were cut 12.5%. Higher Education was cut 9%. State government agencies, other than public and higher education, were cut by more than 16%. Utah State Board of Regents estimates that it will cost an additional $1.5 million to fund all eligible New Century Scholarship students at 75% of tuition. As I mentioned, the Legislature only cut $172,000 from the program from FY 2009 to FY 2010. The additional $1.3 million shortfall results from increasing demands on the program - i.e., more students. In FY 2008, 408 students received the award; in FY 2010, the projection is 695. Without any additional funding, a reduced amount of money now needs to be spread to a much larger group of students. Now, I just threw out a bunch of numbers but to say that this reduction in funding is a slap in the face to the students is not a fair assessment. The bottom line is that we had to make cuts everywhere. We cut this program much less than most areas.
posted by The Senate Site at 7:03 AM | Link
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18 Comments:
The problem, Senator Hillyard, IS in the numbers. If the budget was cut "only" 8%, then why are the scholarships being cut almost 50%? THAT is the slap in the face.
The problem with this program is that the Legislature agreed to fund a program they had no control over how much it would cost. What if instead of 695 students qualifying, you had 1695 students? 2000? 3000?
It was poor judgment on the legislature's part not to have a built in limit on the funds that would go out so that it would stay within budget.
You're disappointed? Everyone's disappointed sweetie. It's called a RECESSION. The money isn't there.
Why are the scholarships of rich white kids more important than a state employee's JOB? Why are you more important than an out of work single parent on medicaid who was promised dental care but now has to live with pain and infection?
re: "It was poor judgment on the legislature's part not to have a built in limit on the funds that would go out..."
State law (53B-8-105) says "if the appropriation under Subsection (4)(a) is insufficient to cover the costs associated with the New Century scholarship program, the State Board of Regents may limit or reduce scholarships."
http://le.utah.gov/UtahCode/getCodeSection?code=53B-8-105
Sounds like a built-in limit to me.
Rich white kids?
My parents are both teachers.
I earned the scholarship with 3 years of hard, hard, hard work.
Now tell me I'm a rich white kid.
It is fine to cut a program, but not an existing legal commitment and award. These kids, my daughter being one of them received a letter from the state with attached terms saying they have been awarded a 75% tuition scholarship from the State for 60 credits. It came with a note saying that they will receive these amounts if they meet the terms. The State by law has the option to limit and even eliminate future awards, but they are legally bound to meet their current obligations under awards already given, especially when you take into account the contractual nature of the language and terms of the award. Do not enter into additional awards if the State can not afford it - but they must meet their existing legal obligations. As a parent we can deal with and plan for that!
I agree with Chris. Even if the statute allows for a reduction of scholarship funds, if the state has promised these scholarships to students who have been counting on them (i.e. planning to use their money for other important expenses or already used them), then the state needs to pay up. Feel free to reduce or completely eliminate any future scholarship opportunities, but don't cut scholarships that have been awarded.
On a side note, this issue and recent budget cuts present a valuable lesson on why government should not give out money to specific individuals or groups of people: they often want more and more money and feel entitled to it. If government only spent money on services that are available to all Utahns, then fewer people would be begging you to keep programs that favor them.
Self reliance is a wonderful principle. Eliminate all programs that encourage people to be dependent on the state.
If people wish to contribute to scholarships, it should be voluntary, not forced through taxation.
For Your Information:
We have been self reliant. We were self reliant when we planned out a way to earn 60+ credit hours while still in high school. We planned ahead. The Board of Regents failed to do so. They could have easily figure out how many of us were in the program. They could have planned ahead. They could dip into the Rainy Day Fund with the millions available for higher education. But instead they have removed money earned by students who are in need and worked and worked and worked to secure funds for college. And don't forget we high-achieving students will be paying your Medicare and for your state position in the future. So keep the socioeconomic and racist insults to your uninformed self.
THIS IS NOT ANOTHER GIVEAWAY.
My instincts tell me that the New Century Scholarship should be good for the State of Utah and not just another giveaway. I think this program could legitimately be cost justified and make perfect business sense. Since higher education must be subsidized, and the New Century Scholarship should reduce the time students are in higher education, does it not stand to reason that it reduces the State of Utah’s subsidy for that student’s college education? I don’t have the data, but it seems worth the analysis, that paying students to take less time in school via a scholarship instead of subsidizing a lengthier higher education is cost effective. If a program can actually pay for itself, we should be doing more of it, not less.
The reality of this is that fewer students will do the New Century Program. Since the Utah Legislature had the wisdom to create this creative, unique and beneficial program for Utah Students, is this now the message you really want to send to future students, especially if the program can be cost justified?
AND...
They are not rich white kids... and they are also not the ones getting the majority of non-merit scholarships. In many situations this is the only opportunity for excellent students since most scholarships actually focus on race, gender and other very specific criteria.
You said, "Why are the scholarships of rich white kids more important than a state employee's JOB? Why are you more important than an out of work single parent on medicaid who was promised dental care but now has to live with pain and infection?"
Interesting, I am a single mother who has been out of work for seven months with a black son that is qualifying for the scholarship. Not that any of that really matters. Find a new argument.
This scholarship is (or was) available to any student, regardless of race or socioeconomic status, who put forth the effort during their high school years to not only earn a diploma, but to concurrently earn college credit. This involved sacrifice and commitment, giving up nights and weekends to do extra homework for extra classes. It meant taking college courses during the summer. They counted on this scholarship and made commitments to further attend college, anticipating that their hard work would provide a way to help meet the required expenses. My son finished his associate's degree this week, just in time to learn that the funds he was counting on to further his education have been reduced significantly. The timing is horrible. It is unfortunate that the state is not keeping the commitment made to these dedicated students.
Still thankful for the scholarship amount that remains...
I don't think its a matter of who is right or who is wrong. Things come apart in life all the time. I think the right thing to do is find a way to fund the students that earned it this year because they are caught in a tight spot, they gave up on other possible opportunities do get this one. Also remember they hold a college degree in their hands. That is worth a great deal. I would have my sons go through it just for that.
You know as a parent of a student graduating in 2010 I too am frustrated that she has and will work so hard only to look forward to a 25% scholarship at best. However, taking a step back to look at the big picture I have paid very little for her to complete her 2 year degree, so factoring in the approx $2000/semester of tuition multiplied by 8 semesters means that her total tuition costs will be $16000. I didn't pay for 2 years that's $8000 and she will probably get another 25% which is another $2000, all total she will receive $16000 worth of school, with $10000 not having to come out of our pocket. Plus she has a leg up on most people her age and can enter the work field 2 years earlier than her peers, with half as much student loan debt. Is it frustrating, yes, but hey we are still getting a pretty dang good deal. We are in a recession and we can either look at cuts to these types of programs or raise our taxes, either way we have to pay for it. Good luck to all of those great kids who are working so hard to make the best of the situation.
I am so disappointed that the state is backing out of their commitment to award these hard working, self-motivated, and productive students this award. It is not a hand-out, it has been earned. I've been told about a meeting at the capitol building this Wednesday, and I urge concerned people to come to it to let your voices be heard. It is at 9:00 a.m. in room 445 I believe.
Sen. Hillyard - Do you agree with the position announced today? Flip - flop?
I really appreciated all the comments to the blog. I believe it highlights how complicated this issue is. I DO support the legislative position for 2 reasons:
1. I felt that not giving the students notice until 2 weeks before school was grossly unfair to them.
2. The Governor has stepped forward with spending money and Higher Education will make up the difference. I am convinced that next January, we will be looking for every dime we can find to avoid further cuts in all state programs and avoid a substantial tax increase. For those who want to suspend rainy day fund, it is still raining and I don’t see it stopping in the immediate future.
Thanks.
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