Georgia’s vaunted HOPE Scholarship has become welfare for the state’s rich
An Atlanta attorney argues that HOPE now constitutes "welfare" for wealthier Georgians and more lottery funds ought to go to pre-k.
I ran an e-mail that I received from Emmet Bondurant, a prominent local attorney and education advocate, calling for the HOPE Scholarships to be limited by income so more funds can go to the critical needs of pre-k.
I asked Emmet Bondurant to expand his views into an op-ed and here it is. (A joint House and Senate education committee meets Aug. 2 at 10 a.m. to discuss HOPE funding. I plan to attend. Should be interesting.) I plan to run the piece on the Monday education op-ed page but this is a preview for Get Schooled readers.
I know many of you like HOPE the way it is, but Bondurant is looking at the issue of dwindling resources and what investment yields a greater return for the state. Again, there is no doubt that HOPE has done a lot to inspire high school kids to work harder and take more AP classes to get into UGA or Tech. And as the quality of the students has improved, so has the quality of the universities.
But would the state as a whole benefit more if we redirected increased funds to pre-k and to those youngsters for whom college is not a foregone conclusion from the cradle? (All research shows that HOPE influences where kids go to college, rather than whether they go.)
Read the piece and let us know what you think:
By Emmet J. Bondurant
It is now obvious that as a result of the recent increases by the Board of Regents in college tuitions, as well as the growth in the number of students graduating from high schools with B averages, the Georgia Lottery is not going to generate sufficient revenue to fund HOPE Scholarships at current levels. Allowances for books and student activity fees are going to be drastically reduced – and if the shortfall in lottery revenues continues, the HOPE Scholarships themselves will be in jeopardy.
I urge legislators to exercise real leadership and convene a study committee composed of genuine experts in public education to evaluate the real – as distinguished from the imagined – benefits of the HOPE Scholarship program and determine whether Georgians are getting the maximum bang for the buck from the hundreds of millions in lottery revenues that are spent on HOPE Scholarships and HOPE Grants.
Are the HOPE Scholarships and Grants the best way to genuinely advance public education – or would Georgia’s children derive a far greater benefit if the same dollars were used to make high quality pre-k available to all 3 and 4 year olds?
Georgia is wasting hundreds of millions of dollars annually in lottery revenues to subsidize the tuition costs for middle and upper-income families who would have sent their children to college on their own expense, without a hand-out from the state. To make matters even worse, these same families forfeit $2,500 annually in college tuition tax credits from the federal government by accepting HOPE funds from the Georgia Lottery.
Many studies by leading educators and economists have shown that the Georgia could achieve far more bang for the buck at all levels of public education by investing the revenue generated by the Georgia Lottery in pre-k than in HOPE Scholarships and Grants.
Legislators must take an honest look at the evidence and answer the hard questions about the value of pre-K versus HOPE that have been ignored for too long. Since the General Assembly is going to be forced by the shortfall in lottery revenues to do something, why not adopt real reforms, instead of merely nibbling around the edges and adopting half measures that are merely politically expedient?
There are two obvious ways for lawmakers to reduce the drain on lottery revenues. First, lawmakers should cut out welfare for the rich, and let families that can afford to send their children to college pay their own way. If the General Assembly were to reimpose a $75,000 means test for HOPE, for example, 73.5 percent of all Georgia families would still be eligible for HOPE Scholarships. The only families affected would be upper-income ones fully capable sending their children to college without a lottery welfare check or hand-out.
The idea of eliminating unneeded welfare payments to the rich should appeal to true conservatives who are willing put principle ahead of their own selfish interests.
The state could also save tens, if not hundreds, of millions in lottery revenues by cutting HOPE Scholarships to attend both public and private schools by $2,500 each. Such a change would cost the parents of HOPE recipients nothing, since they’d then qualify for the $2,500 American Opportunity Tax Credits against their federal income taxes. Then, the federal government, rather than the Georgia Lottery, would contribute $2,500 of the cost of each Hope Scholarship.
If our new governor and General Assembly don’t take the lead in reforming HOPE and pre-k, who will?
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211 comments Add your comment
TeachOverseas
July 23rd, 2010
7:35 am
“And as the quality of the students has improved, so has the quality of the universities”
Hmm- so in the k-12 grades- it’s the SCHOOLS that make the STUDENTS- but suddenly in college- it’s the STUDENTS who make the SCHOOLS,
We teachers say it over and over- give us good students and we will have a great school- give us low performing students and we will have a low performing school. Why is this heresy in k-12 but truth in college?
David
July 23rd, 2010
7:36 am
Dianne and Frank are dead on. As a father of 5 I can tell you that being a nurturing parent of a 3 or 4 year old at home is by far better than sending them off to school for a preschool education. The lottery is a corporation set up to reward students for studying and getting good grades. It also keeps them in state schools for their college education. Leave it alone and reward students for their achievements regardless of their parents monetary means. This a reward for working for something and a lesson for them to know what it take to be successful in life.
Thatgirl
July 23rd, 2010
7:39 am
I just want to know when people making 75k became “rich”. Obviously no one informed me about it. I am struggling just like everyone else. I don’t live above my means. This is ridiculous!
Change is here
July 23rd, 2010
7:42 am
This is just a entitlement for you white folk. It should be banned for family incomes above a certain level. Change is here-get used to it!
Kevin
July 23rd, 2010
7:43 am
Once again people want to make the rich pay for more. Now I am not even close to being rich but this HOPE is earned by kids for good grades. People say well kids take remidial classes and get into college with HOPE and use it BUT if the kid is not prepared in college and does not make the grades he LOSES the HOPE next year. The bottom line is if the kids make the grades and earn HOPE they should get it regardless of how well off there parents are.
This is something the kids earn and not there parents. Why punish kids who made the grades and EARNED it because there daddy or mommy is rich. That only teaches them if you earn more your going to be responsible for more. It’s not the parents fault they worked hard to earn what they have and now should have to work harder to pay for their kids education even though the kid worked to make the grades so some kid could get a free ride to college because his parents are poor and live off wel fare.
Not that all parents live off wel fare but the bottom line is people need to stop saying the rich is responsible for more because they have more money. A lot of rich folks earned the money they made and took risks to get rich.
AJinCobb
July 23rd, 2010
7:43 am
Completely cutting off HOPE at some income level like $75K would be very unfair to families who have been factoring HOPE into their education savings calculations. We have, and we’d be in the “on the bubble” group that would be very hard-hit if HOPE were cut off at this point.
I’m more receptive to ideas like a graduated cutoff (the higher the family income, the less HOPE) and reimbursement if the student’s grades fall below the required level.
Thatgirl
July 23rd, 2010
7:47 am
Please keep in mind that there are people of all races who have worked hard to attain a certain income level.This change would not exclusively impact “white” people. That is a misconception. Instead of being jealous of people who make this type of income, you should figure out what career choices/educational choices you can make to obtain this income. Believe you me you don’t get to this level or above with working your butt off!
Principle
July 23rd, 2010
7:47 am
Hope introduced a powerful force for grade inflation in High School, making it hard to tell how a student actually performed. This is one reason for kids with great grades who can’t pass the exit exams. Of course the solution is to eliminate the exit exams.
We have more than enough income redistribution. This is another program that will damage the middle class.
As for the lottery, it’s a regressive force in this state but is completely voluntary. Notice that none of the income redistributors want to eliminate the lottery itself.
Dan
July 23rd, 2010
7:49 am
Amazing anytime the acquistion of something requires a little effort (and it requires painfully little effort), and is open to anyone who chooses to vie for it, it is labled unfair. Why because the fact is generally people with the work ethic to achieve something don’t need people to help very long
Julie
July 23rd, 2010
7:49 am
After reading this article, I realized what our country is becoming. We are now catering to the people who don’t want to work for what they get. The majority want the government to take care of them. The HOPE scholarship is a reward for the hard work of students in Georgia who maintain a B average in college and work to get those grades. It doesn’t matter what kind of income their parents have, it is the students who are studying and working hard to get their reward. I guess the government has gotten so involved in “helping people” that those of us who actually work to better ourselves are now in the minority and we will continue to pay for more and more people who think they deserve the help.
hardmanb
July 23rd, 2010
7:51 am
Some points.
1. The Hope Scholarship is only good for “state” colleges. Rich people don’t send their kids to state colleges, they go to Emory, Agnes Scott, Harvard, Duke, etc., etc.
2. It is not for partying students. If you don’t maintain a B average in college, you are given one term on probation, while only “one” reinstatement…then out you go.
3. I have been involved with Georgia Tech for 40 years, and Tech’s undergraduate enrollment has only increased about 20% in the last ten years. More from increased demand for technical education than HOPE. And almost 50% of Tech undergrads are foreign or out of state.
4. The real beneficiary of the HOPE program is the Georgia system of community colleges, which have expanded and are providing college for kids other than at UGA and Tech.
jesus likes hope, you dope.
July 23rd, 2010
7:52 am
The key is to motivate the many dumb residents of this state ( this Op Ed author is one of them ) to buy more lottery tickets…I suggest playing re runs of Dukes of Hazzard during prime time…Maybe some old nascar race highlights, as well. Certainly our state governement can pass a ” bubba bill ” to increase lottery revenues…
I would also take HOPE money and give $2500 CASH to every high school graduate ( or drop out ) with a GPA less than 2.25 who enlists in the active duty military. That way we would remove the potential dead beats and bottom feeders from the state welfare / entitlement burden. Get the future drains of the financial system out of the state. The military will teach them how to function and be responsible…That program can be calle ” Project Dope.”
HOPE or DOPE…You pick!
GT mom
July 23rd, 2010
7:52 am
I agree with those who see pre-k (especially for 3 year olds) glorified baby sitting. As the mom of a GT student I can say that Hope helps, but is by no means a free ride. Without Hope, he would have taken the scholarship offered by Auburn and would have gone out of state.
As for the comment about “inflated grades”…my daughter, who is in a private college (on scholarship) out of state, has had professors comment on her high school and her level of preparation for college (starting w/32 hours from AP courses).
Will
July 23rd, 2010
7:54 am
Of course, you can just keep forgetting the cycle of poverty that Pre-K and the Hope are attempting to end. Can all parents read to their children? No. Look at the illiteracy rate in Georgia. Should children be punished based on who their parents are? No. The rich, however you may define it, will by the vast majority take care of their children while the poor do not have the same resources because their may be single-parent families working two jobs or taking public transportation (takes time and effort to do simple tasks such as grocery shopping). If Pre-K is not funded, more poor students will be doomed (behind in reading in fourth grade). And yes, by the way, I would be classified as rich.
Really?
July 23rd, 2010
7:54 am
I came from an upper-middle class family and without Hope it would have been extremely hard to get through college. (I had to take out a student loan as well.) I believe what Emmet is missing here is simply that he would be punishing the students, not just mom and dad. Most 18 year olds do not have access to the kind of funds that their parents do and HOPE gives those 18 year olds an opportunity to go to college, get a degree and not have to swim in debt due to excessive student loans. (Have we forgotten the little debt crisis we have right now?) I’m all for supporting Pre-K programs, but you’ll need to find another means to support that venture. Here is one other thought: if you redirect funds to Pre-K programs, at what point does that become unsustainable by the state budget as Emmet claims has happened with current Hope funds and college tuition? Just a matter of “pick your poison” isn’t it? Besides, I don’t believe for one minute that all lottery funds go to Hope as it is supposed to; I don’t believe in my state government enough to believe that anymore.
F & B Guy
July 23rd, 2010
7:55 am
$75,000 as a cut off for becoming “rich” ? That’s incredible…I had no idea I was rich…thanks for the update.
The Hope Scholarship has been, is, and HOPEfully will continue to be a benefit for students of ALL income levels who work hard to attain AND more importantly, maintain good grades.
I have three kids and all of them work hard in school and as the oldest (17) gets ready for college, we are absolutely going to consider GA colleges and universities because of the HOPE scholarship. With three kids in the pipeline, “rich” is not how I live. I am “rich” because of the experiences I share with my children, but financially, we are NOT rich, we are middle class.
I agree with several other posters that redirecting more funds to Pre-K is little more than subsidizing day care. I am confident that there are adequate options for Pre-K that do not need further Hope input and then the public school system takes over at the Kindergarten level. ALL my kids went through the public school system and like I said before, they have worked hard and have done well and I anticipate taking advantage of a program that will assist our family with the cost (outrageous I might add) of college.
Laurie
July 23rd, 2010
7:56 am
So, does Emmet J. Bondurant have very young children or relatives, and make less than 75,000 per year? That’s the only way his proposal makes since. I don’t have a problem putting more money towards pre-K programs, but capping HOPE availability for families that make over 75,000 a year is way over the top. He groups the middle class with the rich, and we all know there is a huge gap between the two. I make more than 75K a year, and I face a financial struggle when my child (who by the way has been a straight A student for the last 3 years) goes off to college. I think we should look at WHY this guy is making such an outlandish proposal before we give it much merit.
Brian
July 23rd, 2010
7:56 am
It has been empirically shown that programs like Head Start have very little effect on preparing young children for educational success down the road. Why divert funds to that when the HOPE has been proven to raise the profile of the many public secondary educational institutions in this state? If anything try to raise the standards or make it a reimbursement program.
john konop
July 23rd, 2010
8:00 am
The problem is college education cost has sky rocketed. When I went to school it was 3k a year for room, books and tuition. And most kids with little help from home and or a part-time job could go to college.
Now it is 50k to 60K for private schools and 25k to 35k for public schools, the numbers are staggering! And if the kid uses student loans in many cases it is questionable if it pays for itself.
This is the similar problem with healthcare. The inflationary cost of the product is out stripping the ability to pay for the product.
This is one of the reasons I have been such a strong advocate of cross utilization between the high schools and colleges, vocational schools…..If we do not coordinate the two more and more kids will fall through the cracks.
Not only with above idea help with the drop-out rate by matching kids quicker to their abilities it would save money by being more efficient.
For example:
1) If a student graduates with vocational certificate while in high schools the students becomes at tax payer quicker and the amount of years paying for school is less.
2) The above logic would also apply to four college bound kids.
3) If you cross utilized facilities as well teachers not only would we be matching the best teachers with the right track, we would save money in building, facility up keep……
We are facing tough times and we need to be smart about how we budget and implement or we will leave a generations of kids behind.
Educ major
July 23rd, 2010
8:01 am
I’m an education major and I think it’s appalling that every piece of research has shown that pre-k is the most useless form of “education” going around right now. Studies have shown that by grade 3, there is no difference between a child who was involved in a pre-k program and one who started off in kindergarten. Meanwhile, you have my parents who make over $100,000 without giving me a dime for my education. They’re response is, “paying your own way builds character and you’ll appreciate it more.” Right. HOPE is welfare to those rich families. If you want to reform HOPE, why not raise the requirements? Over 70% of students lose HOPE after their first year; why even give out the money to people who are just going to waste it? Could you not raise the GPA requirement for high school seniors to a 3.5 high school GPA and then, once they start college, require a 3.0 college GPA?
Barrett
July 23rd, 2010
8:01 am
HOPE is a privilege for students who work hard, parents should take an active role in their kids lives if they want them to receive the HOPE scholarship, not just funnel money into early childhood development. Parents should get off their lazy rears and teach their children, not rely on the under-qualified teachers.
Rich
July 23rd, 2010
8:03 am
This has got to be about the most absurd idea. First and foremost, welfare is a handout from the state/federal government from money collected from working people to give to the “less fortunate”. Secondly, the hope money comes from lottery money where people WILLINGLY spent the money. Additionally, the same opportunity is afforded to all to benefit from the Hope scholarship, not just the rich. If the poor aren’t getting it due to grades, then it is their own fault. At some point it is their responsibilty to break the welfare cycle. However more times than not, they find they like sitting at home drawing a check for doing nothing over actually getting out and earning it. Same goes for getting an education.
NO SUCH!!
July 23rd, 2010
8:03 am
How much money do I need to make to be “rich”?????? $75,000, $100,000, $ 300,000????
Boone7
July 23rd, 2010
8:04 am
My wife has been a kindergarten assistant teacher for the past seven years. Based on her experience, the benefits of spending money on Pre-K is highly overrated. She has had classes of children that cannot count or do not know their ABCs. They would have learned these things in Pre-K. By the end of the year, the majority of the kids are all at the same level irregardless of where they started. Now if your kindergarten teacher is not good, that could be a problem.
The HOPE scholarship has been a great thing for Georgians. The program has encouraged many students in a disadvantaged socioeconomic situation to study hard and attempt to qualify for the HOPE.
Here is the problem that neither of these programs will address, although I hope the HOPE will continue. The massive spending cuts in primary education in Georgia for the upcoming school year have done a lot of damage. Keep in mind, that the upcoming school year has some funding from the Federal stimulus bill. In the 2011-12 school year, those funds will be gone as well. The core of education is at risk, not just the “fringes” of Pre-K and college. I cringe at what cuts of a similar magnitude for next year will do. The morale in the school system has already been rocked by the current year cuts. How will teacher morale and the quality of education be affected when the class size is greatly increased again and many other programs will have to be cut?
dawg
July 23rd, 2010
8:06 am
My wife teaches in a headstart pre-k. It is daycare 2.0, and all the pre-k teachers know it.
Elizabeth
July 23rd, 2010
8:06 am
As a recently retired Ga. teacher with a late in life daughter in college and a husband on disibility, I highly resent the implication that I am one of the state’s “Wealthy on welfare”. My daughter goes to Clayton State and lives at home. Even so, without HOPE, I do not know how her college would be funded. Our college fund was derailed whern my husband had to go on disability. We do not have a big house or lots of things. We value education. But without HOPE, my daughte would have to to work and take out loans. Our combined income? About $70.000 BEFORE I retired . We have a reasonable mortgage payment, a car payment and no other debt. Yet the cash for college is not there unless we sacrifice our retirement savings and expect our daughter to care for us later. I had no choice but retirement, as my husband now requires full time supervision which is not paid by his disability. HOW DARE YOU IMPLY THAT WE ARE WEALTHY WELFARE DEADBEATS! It is clear that the people who post these articles have NO clue of how much it takes to simply pay bills and live or to fund college expenses. Now my income is HALF what I made before I retired. YET NO MATTER WHAT IT TAKES, MY DAUGHTER WILL FINISH COLLEGE. I do not remember a post that has made me as angry as this one.
Skram30082
July 23rd, 2010
8:06 am
AJinCobb:
“Completely cutting off HOPE at some income level like $75K would be very unfair to families who have been factoring HOPE into their education savings calculations.”
That’s the problem with HOPE. As soon as HOPE was created, many families saw the government check coming, and ceased to plan for college. I can’t tell you how many times I heard parents say, “Well, we don’t have to pay for college anymore!”
HOPE is a joke. Like a lot of Democratic ideas (thanks, Zell), it sounded like a good idea at the time. But now, it’s just another entitlement.
I think it should be converted to a tuition reimbursement program, much like the ones that many companies offer to their employees.
BTW, I’m a little left of center, which makes me a flaming liberal in this state, according to a previous poster.
Jacob
July 23rd, 2010
8:06 am
Why being an informed voter is SOOOO important. Unfortunately for us, we’re gonna be stuck with one of the three evils … Barnes, Handel, Deal.
http://whyamericanssuck.blogspot.com/2010/07/6-likely-voters.html
Clay
July 23rd, 2010
8:07 am
The HOPE Scholarship is an incentive for students to do well in high school and to keep doing well in college. It also allows some of our best and brightest to stay here instead of going out of state. If some of our best students go to UGA “for free” instead of paying to go to UNC, Vanderbilt, etc., it also helps keep them in the state of Georgia after they graduate and they can contribute to Georgia’s future.
The HOPE Scholarship is not a welfare program for the rich. Besides, in what world is $75k/yr rich?
cinfy
July 23rd, 2010
8:08 am
The writer is SO WRONG. HOPE works as a merit based aid. Key here MERIT Based. Students have to earned the grades to received the grant and keep it. It is a even playing field for all that want to work hard.
Us 75,000 to 250,000 incomes still have to pay out of pocket for the other expenses of college. Hope only covers the tuition but it does HELP. Especially if you have two or more kids going to college. The lower incomes families that may invest more money in lottery tickets can receive up to 100% financial aid for college. The middle income families who are squeezed for every cent we earned receive a letter from FAFSA saying you are qualified for any loan you want. Our taxes finance lower income families kids education. HOPE is all that is available to everyone regardless of imcome. Finally something that ACTUALLY works fairly to ALL and now you want to go an SCREW with it.
fred smith
July 23rd, 2010
8:09 am
Fyi, the research has shown pretty clearly that pre-k is ONLY valuable IF one of the effective curricula is followed accurately AND done by very well-trained teachers. Otherwise, we’re simply subsidizing daycare – no doubt of great value for the economy, but not for preparing kids for later schooling.
North Georgia Jimmy
July 23rd, 2010
8:10 am
thank you very much lottery players for the $50,000 plus benefit I received for my daughter’s 4 years at UGA. I do attempt to “pay back” a little with a lottery ticket on occasion.
Whatever Parent
July 23rd, 2010
8:11 am
OMG……..another hand-out for the po po people of Georgia. My child received the hope and without that college would not have been affordable. I PAID for my child to go to 3-4 year old programs and I’m tired of paying for free childcare for those that go to State funded pre-k programs. Get a grip people…I’m sick of paying for those that DON’T work and pay taxes and receive FREE handouts constantly!!!! Save it for those students that work hard through high school no matter how much freakin money their parents make!!!!!!
gwinnettian
July 23rd, 2010
8:14 am
We, sadly, were part of those 500 fewer Freshman spots at UGA this year. So while my student is well qualified for HOPE, she is now going to an out of State University. Ugh and you should see the out of state tuition. So we lost our HOPE dollars AND our in state status. Of course we are White in Georgia and that makes you ‘the evil rich’ regardless of income! We will beg, borrow and fall just short of stealing to pay for it until we can pay no more. Sometimes a college education comes down to how badly you want it. So does success in life – so it will be a good starting point!
To compare the importance of a year of college with a year in Pre-K is ridiculous though. The elements learned in pre-K are quite similar to that on any 4 year old daycare program. The difference is that people would like to have their daycare paid for by someone else. Here’s a thought – don’t have children until you can afford to pay your own daycare or until you are ready to make the sacrifices to stay at home with them. Life is about choices and how you make them determines your success. All this thinking that we are owed something is what has this country in the terrible mess we are in now!
Which dollars teach more Pre-K or college? We are not that brainwashed yet people.
Bill
July 23rd, 2010
8:15 am
Why does everyone here think that society exists for their personal benefit? I would personally be hurt by the suggested change, but if it is better for Georgia it is better for me. After the second world war, we had the GI Bill. The idea was to make college accessible, not because it was in individual benefit, but because it was a societal benefit.
Our family income is not far above the proposed cutoff, and I would prefer a sliding scale, but I think the idea is sound. Pre-K is a sound societal investment – NOT glorified babysitting. Children who have been to a quality Pre-K do better in school, are more likely to go to college, and less likely to end up in prison where they cost us $30k per year.
Finally, everyone has ignored the very best part of this proposal. Drop the HOPE benefit by $2500, and you qualify for a federal tax credit for $2500. The cost to the family is the same. The cost to the HOPE fund is much less.
Statty
July 23rd, 2010
8:16 am
UGA economists Cornwall and Mustard (along with Bradley) have a nice overview of the effects of HOPE starting on page 38 of the 2009 Georgia Policy Papers: http://www.coe.uga.edu/EPEC/policy/index.html which folks may be interested in. Regarding the long run effects of high quality pre-K, I refer y’all to the work of James Heckman. Brian is correct that the academic effects of Head Start are temporary at best, but other models suggest much higher individual economic returns and decreased societal costs. Not only would a change be a shift from college to pre-K, it would also be a shift from short term to longer term perspectives. What politician wants to make a change that will only have effects in 12 years? That’s 3 election cycles!
pragmatist
July 23rd, 2010
8:16 am
How quickly HOPE has become an entitlement. How do kids in other states go to college? Kids will continue to go to college with or without HOPE. Stop acting like HOPE is a right – it can (and may have to be) altered as we go through tough times.
Dave Parker
July 23rd, 2010
8:18 am
I think this is a poor idea in-part – as so many other commenters have expressed – $75K is too low a threshold; HOPE was sold as a merit-tested rather than means-tested program.
“Many studies by leading educators and economists have shown that the Georgia could achieve far more bang for the buck at all levels of public education by investing the revenue generated by the Georgia Lottery in pre-k than in HOPE Scholarships and Grants.”
Why not provide some links so that readers can see who these “educators and economists” are, read the studies and make up their own minds regarding how much veracity they have?
“Georgia is wasting hundreds of millions of dollars annually in lottery revenues to subsidize the tuition costs for middle and upper-income families who would have sent their children to college on their own expense, without a hand-out from the state.”
Georgia colleges are also wasting enormous amounts of money. KSU commuter students are now forced to help pay for a new cafeteria even if they don’t use it. And how in the world does KSU having a football team improve the quality of the education they provide?
Bill
July 23rd, 2010
8:19 am
Cinfy,
True, HOPE was designed to be merit based. Over the last 30 years there has been a significant shift from need based aid to merit based aid. On the face of it, this seems perfectly fair, but it is not. The greatest predictors of academic success are parents income and educational level. Much of the “merit” comes as a result of these advantages students are born to. As a result, the amount of aid provided to students in the highest income quartile exceeds the average amount provided to students in the lowest income quartile (Hossler, 2004; Rosenstone, 2004).
Nickie
July 23rd, 2010
8:20 am
I agree that the current requirements for a B average is a joke. And the exit exams – my son’s take on those was they required you to be vertical and breathing! No, he was not a super high achiever – he used the HOPE grant to go to one of the tech schools and is now a police detective. I think the poster who said make the HOPE dependent on SAT, advanced placement classes and other more objective as opposed to subjective criteria is right. That along with some phase out at a much higher level than $75,000 and a formula for more than one child in college makes good sense.
Kira Willis, Libertarian Candidate for State School Superintendent
July 23rd, 2010
8:23 am
Good morning,
Sixty percent of all freshmen lose the HOPE scholarship. That is about 254 million dollars a year. If we go to a reimbursement plan, the onus will be off of the high schools to inflate grades, and we will save ourselves 254 million dollars a year.
At the end of the student’s college or university career, students can use the reimbursement of their last semester to pay back the original loan, or they can use that money to start the next chapter in his or her life.
http://www.willisforstatesuper.com
Ezra
July 23rd, 2010
8:23 am
Yes give me a free college education so I can get a good job. Who cares about performance. Just look at the harvard and other college grads who put us into this depression. College grads do not perform that well at all. They just get opportunities based on memorizing for a test. Look as some of the degrees out there. They are worthless. Only degress that teach real science and a real discipline are valuable. College degree has become a business and not an educational effect. By the way I thought the harvard grad said the rich made 250k a year. Is it now dropped to 75K?
the prof
July 23rd, 2010
8:24 am
Don’t make this yet another handout for the undeserving…
sharon
July 23rd, 2010
8:25 am
I agree 100% with “mystery poster”
stop whining
July 23rd, 2010
8:28 am
I pay for the free education of a lot of you peoples’ rug rats every time I play the lottery. I also pay school taxes (in my property tax) on my mortgage payment each month. Yet, I am discriminated against by the govt. and many of you ungrateful people whose children get a free education, at my expense. I can’t serve in the military, can’t get married, can’t share MY social security with my significant other, who I have been with for 28 years. It seems marriage is too sacred an institution for us. It must de “defended” against us….so as to be held up high for Las Vegas quickie weddings, or The Bachelor…or “Who Wants to Marry a Millionaire” or the rest of the mockeries of marriage . Not to mention, you heteros are doing just fine wrecking “traditional marriage” on your own. Have you seen the divorce rates lately? If you are so for “preserving ” marriage- OUTLAW DIVORCE!
But I digress…in keeping with the article, I am for means testing. Let the rich pay for their own childrens’ education with all those tax cuts they have enjoyed at my expense the last 10 years.
NO SUCH!!
July 23rd, 2010
8:29 am
It is NOT an entitlement because you have to keep a B average to get and keep hope!!
Sk8ing Momma
July 23rd, 2010
8:31 am
HOPE may need tweaking; but, funding more preK is NOT the answer ~ nor is making eligibility for college scholarships income-based. The reality is that the Georgia preK program is lottery-funded babysitting. (Isn’t Headstart available for low-income families who desire to have their children attend preschool?) I’d be very curious to see any stats on the impact the lottery-funded preK has had on the future of students who have attended v. those who did not attend preschool. My guess is that it is little to nil. Comparing whether one should fund preschool or a college education is a no brainer, IMO…The value of college far exceeds a preschool education, IMO. (What children are exposed to in preschool can *easily* be taught in the home and from a good childcare provider.) What one gains from college cannot be so easily replicated at home.
IMO, the lottery-funded preK program should be ditched all together and more funds directed to funding merit-based college scholarships, regardless of income.
John
July 23rd, 2010
8:31 am
Wow, it’s amazing to hear all of these people making $75k+ who think they can’t afford college tuition on their own.
I paid my way through college making $40k/yr.
Guess everyone, rich or poor, feels entitled to a handout.
harden4772
July 23rd, 2010
8:33 am
Georgia Pre-K is a joke. No reason for it whatsoever. How do I know this? I am a foster parent. We have chosen NOT to put any foster child into the Pre-K program and teach them at home for that year. EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM has enterered Kindergarten at the top of their classes. Remember, these are children whose lives have been in complete turmoil and most of them have suffered abuse for years at the hands of their parents. We work with the children about an hour a day and they thrive. We have had a total of 7 children we have kept during their 4 year old year. Use the money for college, not for babysitting. Let the parents do their jobs at home with their preschoolers.
CLASS WARFARE DECLARED!
July 23rd, 2010
8:33 am
This is an obscene opinion. GA law gives ALL students an opportunity to receive the HOPE scholarship, regardless of ethnicity, religion, or socioeconomic status. If we are going to begin looking at one parameter of student deservedness, shouldn’t we look at them all? Maybe only agnostics deserve 1/2 of the value; whites deserve nothing, since they control most institutions of gov’t anyway; rich people should have to pay extra, since we all know that no one is entitled to more than anyone else unless they steal it. For SHAME that any person of intelligence would even consider this idiotic position! Maureen, you truly make liberals look terrible.