By State Sen. Greg Goggans
ATLANTA (Sept. 4, 2009) In 1993, the state established the Georgia Lottery with the intent of raising revenue for two educational programs, the HOPE Scholarship Program and the Pre-Kindergarten Program. HOPE, Helping Outstanding Pupils Educationally, was developed to assist Georgia students in affording higher education. The Pre-Kindergarten Program was created to help four-year-old students gain access to preparatory programs for kindergarten.
The HOPE Scholarship Program has been a great success for education in Georgia. Over 1.1 million students have taken advantage of the program with $10.6 billion in awards. Just this past year, more than 111,770 students in Georgia received the HOPE scholarship. That’s up from 42,797 since the start of the program.
The HOPE Program contains four different award programs. The HOPE Scholarship for Public Colleges is the largest which allows any student with grade point average of 3.0 or higher who is a resident of Georgia to receive a full tuition scholarship to any in-state public institution of higher education. The HOPE Grant is dedicated for students pursuing a diploma or certificate at a technical college. Both programs pay for tuition and fees (capped at the 2003 level), and provide a stipend to help pay for books. Additionally, the HOPE Scholarship for Private Schools provides $3,500 a year for students attending in-state private institutions, and the GED Voucher program provides a $500 voucher for students earning GEDs who pursue Postsecondary Education.
A recent Atlanta Journal Constitution article raised some alarming questions regarding the program’s fiscal stability. While the program is not facing an immediate funding demise, the truth of the matter is that program expenditures will likely surpass lottery funds this fiscal year. And Georgia’s students and their families could begin to feel the financial impact as soon as 2012 if triggers in present state law are activated.
The Georgia Lottery is actually growing. It is the only traditional lottery in the U.S. that has had eleven straight years of growth. However the influx of students that are taking advantage of the HOPE scholarship has outpaced the growth of the lottery.
This is not the first time that program finances have been threatened. In 2003, the HOPE Scholarship Joint Study Commission was formed in response to concerns that program expenditures would soon exceed lottery revenues available. The recommendations of this commission led to changes in the next legislative session, which included freezing fee payments at the 2003 level, setting a maximum number of credit hours paid for by the program, standardizing GPA calculation across the state’s high schools, and requiring HOPE recipients to maintain a 3.0 GPA. As of 2008, these changes have saved the program $179 million in expenditures.
The Legislature has amended the HOPE Program several times the most recent being in 2009. This has established a series of triggers to help slow the depletion of reserves in the event that expenditures exceeded revenues. If at the end of the fiscal year, the amount in the Lottery for Education Account is less than 92 percent of the highest year-end balance, the HOPE book allowance will be reduced from $300 to $150, except for Pell Grant recipients. If the amount is less than 84 percent, the HOPE book allowance will be eliminated, except for Pell Grant recipients. If the amount is less than 75 percent, the program will no longer cover fees, including for Pell Grant recipients.
Please remember to contact me in my office on the issues that are affecting you and your area. I am here to serve you and it is an honor for me to work on your behalf. As always, I’d like to thank members of the Senate staff, who contribute regularly to my column.
Sen. Greg Goggans represents the 7th Senate District, which includes Atkinson, Bacon, Berrien, Clinch, Coffee, Echols, Lanier, Pierce and Ware counties and a portion of Cook County.
COLUMN
For Immediate Release:
September 4, 2009
For Information Contact:
Natalie Strong, Deputy Director
Katie Wright, Communications Associate
katie.wright@senate.ga.gov
404.656.0028