GOP: Senate Democrats have a plan for HOPE. It’s called bankruptcy
The governor’s office disagreed with State. Sen. Jason Carter’s HOPE piece last week. Here is a response written by state Rep. Carl Rogers, R-Gainesville, who chairs the House Higher Education. (If you can, read the Carter piece as this was written in response to it.)
By Carl Rogers
When researchers say that Americans are falling behind on math skills, we can assume they must have tested Georgia’s state Senate Democrats.
A year late to the party, Senate Democrats have discovered that Lottery revenue can no longer cover the full scholarship that HOPE once offered to all students with at least a B average.
“According to the Georgia Student Finance Commission, by 2016 – in just four years – HOPE will pay for less than half the cost of college,” Sen. Jason Carter, D-Decatur, wrote in the AJC last week. So with Senate Democrats worried about the state of HOPE in four years, they have presented a curious solution: Spend loads more money now.
It’s difficult to even respond to such a proposal, other than to suggest a remedial math class.
This recklessness contrasts starkly with the sober, program-saving changes enacted last year. In the 2011 legislative session, a bipartisan coalition of responsible legislators took action to save the HOPE scholarship. After serving a full generation of outstanding students, HOPE was in trouble. In 2010, for the first time since the Lottery began, expenditures outpaced revenues – and it was only going to get worse.
Working together, House Democrats joined Republicans to rescue the HOPE scholarship and our pre-k program from the brink of disaster. The Enduring HOPE law covers full tuition for Zell Miller Scholars, students who attain a 3.7 GPA and a 1200 SAT. All other funds are divided among students who keep a B average. Like any good entitlement reform, this directly tied expenditures to revenues and it preserved Georgia’s standing as the state with the most generous scholarship program in the nation.
When the Enduring HOPE bill passed the House last year, Senate Democrats went into hiding. At the eleventh hour, they finally appeared – wet fingers raised high into the winds — with proposals that did nothing to stem the tide of red ink.
The fact is, if we had followed Carter’s timorous lead last year, no one would be discussing spending projections for 2016 because the program would go bankrupt in the budget year that begins July 1.
It’s ironic that Carter criticizes the current HOPE plan for dipping into its reserve fund, when last year he called for spending an additional $240 million out of that account to grandfather in all current college students and qualified high school seniors.
The contradictions don’t stop there.
The senator criticizes the Zell Miller Scholarship as too expensive even as his plan calls for expanding the pool of Miller Scholars by providing it to the top 3 percent of every high school. That’s unaffordable and it would create a quota system. The Carter Quota would undercut academic results by rewarding some less-qualified students while excluding higher performing students in other schools.
Carter asserts that we can cover the full tuition cost of all recipients if we impose a household income cap of $140,000. Baloney. A cap that high excludes only 6 percent of Georgia’s families from HOPE eligibility, according to the senator’s own numbers. While no economists have run the numbers, we know the cap would have to dip far below $100,000 per household to keep up with Carter’s Obama-like spending promises.
Even with all the debt Carter would run up, he would manage to destroy the merit-based system that rewards results and creates an incentive to keep our best and brightest in Georgia.
Last year’s reforms saved HOPE with eyes on the next generation. Senate Democrats would bankrupt HOPE with eyes on the next election.
–From Maureen Downey, for the AJC Get Schooled blog
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
83 comments Add your comment
Maureen Downey
February 5th, 2012
5:57 pm
@Joe, I think Georgia needs to figure out the main priority of HOPE. At this point — in the words of Gov. Perdue’s former education adviser — HOPE largely now influences where students go to college, not whether they go.
So here is the question: We are spending hundreds of millions of dollars on kids who would have gone to college anyway. Given that Georgia still needs more college graduates to serve and to spur future job growth, is this the best use of state monies?
Forget the argument over merit versus need. We ought to cast this purely as an economic investment decision.
Are we getting our money’s worth out of HOPE as a state? Clearly HOPE benefits individual families.
Does it help the state’s pressing need for higher numbers of its citizens earning degrees?
Maureen
Maureen Downey
February 5th, 2012
5:58 pm
@The other, The other side is the Jason Carter piece. This piece is a direct response to that piece, which ran here last week.
Maureen
Ronald Millsaps
February 5th, 2012
5:58 pm
Jim– Most students are trash, and the educational system itself actually promotes such students. Parents are largely to blame as well. All this “timeout” business is about as gay as it gets, and no, I have no apology, nor do I owe one, for using “gay” as I did.
Joe
February 5th, 2012
5:59 pm
BTW….. There should be a lot of revamping to Hope anyway. A lot of these parents are pressuring teachers into “inflated” grades and then they don’t keep the GPA to maintain the Hope. Each family/Kid should sign a promise to repay paper if they can’t meet the requirements in college and they should raise Hope to 3.5 IMO
reality
February 5th, 2012
6:02 pm
Benny – When nothing is invested then you have nothing to lose. — well said!
George
February 5th, 2012
6:09 pm
Hello Stupid Not suprise tat 4.3 makes the scool millions of dollars and your makes nothing.Now you should be suprise.
What's Best for GA
February 5th, 2012
6:10 pm
Maureen asked us for just a minute not to think about who should get Hope (merit or need) and focus on whether it does a good job for GA by retaining good students in GA as graduates and workers.
I think it is too early to tell exactly because Hope hasn’t been around taht long but I think that’s an excellent thing for the AJC to research and investigate. A working title — “Hope Graduates: WHere are they and want are they doing now?”
But if I were king of the world (and some say they think I think I am) I would use Hope to fund more GA lottery funded pre-Ks that last from 8 to 5. If we are purely wanting to do what is best for GA, we shoul d use the money to help diminish poverty. Education is the way out of poverty and studies, over and again, have proven that an early education and preparation is more effective than an intervention later.
…and if we really want to be fair about it…poor people buy lottery tickets. It makes more sense to give it back to the people who paid for it and need it the most.
GM
What's Best for GA at all
February 5th, 2012
6:11 pm
Maureen asked us for just a minute not to think about who should get Hope (merit or need) and focus on whether it does a good job for GA by retaining good students in GA as graduates and workers.
I think it is too early to tell exactly because Hope hasn’t been around taht long but I think that’s an excellent thing for the AJC to research and investigate. A working title — “Hope Graduates: Where are they all and want are they doing now?”
But if I were king of the world (and some say they think I think I am) I would use Hope to fund more GA lottery funded pre-Ks that last from 8 to 5. If we are purely wanting to do what is best for GA, we shoul d use the money to help diminish poverty. Education is the way out of poverty and studies, over and again, have proven that an early education and preparation is more effective than an intervention later.
…and if we really want to be fair about it…poor people buy lottery tickets. It makes more sense to give it back to the people who paid for it and need it the most.
GM
Shar
February 5th, 2012
6:25 pm
Maureen, if HOPE is re-directed to a needs-based program from one that rewards high school academic achievement, we’ll have to re-authorize it via referendum as that was not what was proposed by Miller nor what was approved. Chances are it will go down to defeat.
High achieving low income students already have many options available for scholarship dollars, from both public and private sources. Middle income students do not. Students whose education is not funded by their parents are also discriminated against if they are neither minority nor from a low income household.
The problem is not the kids who get the scholarship and graduate within the paid-for 127 hours. The problem is the Legislature-driven monumental hikes in costs and the vast number of students who waste a year on HOPE and flunk out. That is why capping increases, changing to a reimbursement scheme and instituting nationally-normed test minimums would help more than means tests.
Maureen Downey
February 5th, 2012
6:27 pm
@Shar, The language of the original referendum would allow for a need-based qualifier as HOPE had a needs component when it started. (The original family income cap was $66,000.)
Maureen
bob from account temps
February 5th, 2012
7:18 pm
Real Athens
February 5th, 2012
4:09 pm
What do those % equal in dollars each year?? you can only spend $$
3schoolkids
February 5th, 2012
7:30 pm
I don’t see reimbursment method as a reasonable alternative. I think it would create a tracking nightmare for schools and the state, not to mention the poor teacher who would be hassled by students for opportunities to raise their grade in order to get reimbursed. Raising the gpa doesn’t really work either. The state has already miscalculated the number of students that would achieve the 3.7. Also, you already have students in the high schools changing their class strategy and taking more on level classes in order to maintain a high gpa. Unfortunately, I don’t think there is an easy answer as whatever you do someone’s going to get hurt.
teacher
February 5th, 2012
7:36 pm
HOPE is failing because of greed. The colleges raised tuition when they knew there was money to be made with hope. The Board of Regents went unchecked and they need to fix the problem.
Ella Smith
February 5th, 2012
7:39 pm
HOPE is a wonderful program and it pushes our students to make good grades in order to get the scholarship. I have one son who just graduated who earned and used the HOPE scholarship for all four years of college.
I want our legislators to do whatever it takes to keep HOPE Scholarship alive. I do feel too much of the money is used for other expensives and could be saved if there was some tightening of HOPE FUNDS in the pipeline of administrative costs. Less money is getting to our students year after year.
Why are our elected state officials all idiots?
February 5th, 2012
7:45 pm
Originally, care for pre-K, etc…was not included. It was only for college fees. Go back to that and there will be enough money to go around. Stop using the funds for other state shortfalls and there will be enough to go around. Use it for it’s ORIGINAL INTENDED PURPOSE, and there will be enough.
bootney farnsworth
February 5th, 2012
8:05 pm
really wanna know why HOPE is failing?
go find a mirror and look in it. so many of you idiots are GOPing
this for DEMing that because either you can’t or won’t THINK.
in their own stupid ways each have screwed us, but they screwed us
because we let them do it.
bootney farnsworth
February 5th, 2012
8:15 pm
here’s the deal people
1- HOPE -as predicted- led to grade inflation, which lead to more kids than ever on paper qualifing for college
2- since HOPE covered so much, the colleges saw a potential cash cow. prices skyrocketed for the same reasons healthcare costs did – nobody pays directly for anything, so why not charge more.
3- HOPE was never given specific, constitutional regulations on how it could and could not be used. give politicians any opportuntity…
4- college presidents spend money like they print it on crap which has little to do with anything vital
5- the legislature does nothing worthwhile
6- the USG refuse to put any realistic checks and balances on college presidents
and most of all
7- nobody really gives a damn about education in Georgia anyway.
education is a necessary vessel for football, and that’s about it
atlmom
February 5th, 2012
8:41 pm
The point of the HOPE was not to ‘fund college education.’ It is to fund GEORGIA college education. It is to keep the best and the brightest in GEORGIA so that the best and brightest would STAY in Georgia. What had been happening before HOPE was that the best and brightest were getting scholarships and going out of state, never to return. This was a way to invest in Georgians, and keep them here.
Putting an income cap on it is just folly and does nothing to keep the best here.
ScienceTeacher671
February 5th, 2012
8:43 pm
Until the General Assembly mandates and enforces a set percentage of proceeds for the Lottery Corporation to remit to education, I will never be convinced that the purpose of the lottery was actually to provide additional funding for education.
And while the colleges and universities have definitely been on a spending spree with all their extra HOPE dollars, the reduction in post-secondary funding from the General Assembly is part of the reason that tuition and fees have risen precipitously and further depleted HOPE dollars.
Manny
February 5th, 2012
8:44 pm
Make HOPE for only those under a certain income level and it may stop the bleeding. Remember, it was intended as a leg-up for those who needed it while not relying on tax paying dollars. The thinking was that it was lower income families that would contribute to the lottery revenues, and that those lower-income people will reap the benefit. Now, it’s just welfare for the rich… an incentive for executives looking to relocate their businesses without having to give out as many tax breaks.
And now it’s bloated. And may go bankrupt. Sad. I guess that the middle class always lose, huh?
Ed Hendrix
February 5th, 2012
8:58 pm
My original impression of what the HOPE would do to higher education in Georgia has come true. Though the scholarship has served to reduce the cost of educating the student it only covered a fraction of the cost. The huge increase in students that inundated the system placed a huge stress on the infrastructure. With the additional building and personnel state funding could not or would not keep pace. The golden goose may not be dead but she is very tired. She is still pretty generous.
atlmom
February 5th, 2012
9:10 pm
There’s a solution the grade inflation. I have been advocating it for many years, actually.
Rank EVERYONE by their GPA.
The top XXX get scholarships. XXX= the # of scholarships you have this year.
It’s that simple. Spend what you have.
Oh, wait, we’re dealing with the legislature…
td
February 5th, 2012
9:48 pm
“if we impose a household income cap of $140,000. Baloney. A cap that high excludes only 6 percent of Georgia’s families from HOPE eligibility”
How is Carter’s plan going to make the program safe when it only effects 6% of the students? The Democratic plan is nothing more then partisan politics trying to play the wealth envy game.
No one on this blog can tell me that students that have to take remedial classes are solid B HS students. We have to do something about the grade inflation in our HS’s or add a minimum standardized test score so that we ensure only the best and brightest are receiving the scholarship.
I am also starting to like the reimbursement ideas floating around.
ScienceTeacher671
February 5th, 2012
9:55 pm
td, I really like the idea of the tuition payment reverting to a loan if the GPA requirement is not met.
td
February 5th, 2012
10:06 pm
I am reading a great deal of speculation about what to do with the program without anyone knowing any facts about the situation. The only fact I have read is that only 6% of current recipients have parents that make over $140,000 per year. I wish the AJC would do some research and answer the following questions:
1: What is the current cost at each of our Universities per student?
2: What is the demographic breakdown, GPA breakdown, parents income breakdown of the current recipients and school system they attended?
3: What are the SAT scores for each student above?
4: Breakdown of expenses each of the past 10 years from revenue received, actual college tuition the past ten years at each of our universities.
5: Actual number of people that lost their scholarship with their GPA, SAT score, school system attended and if they took remedial classes.
Without this information we are only speculating and are playing politics and no real reform can even be considered?
Manny
February 6th, 2012
5:23 am
The talking points here that are for no income limits are making the case for income limits. Why? Simple:
The Whole “Redistribution of Wealth” or “Spread the Wealth Around” Argument-
The HOPE Scholarship isn’t funded by taxes. Nor is it compulsory. The funding comes from voluntary contributions. Without these contributions, the HOPE scholarship is dead.
So who are the primary contributors to the funding of the HOPE scholarship? Is it those with high incomes? Of course not! It’s primarily for those who are in the middle-to-lower income brackets. So the whole “Spread the Wealth” argument works against those who doesn’t want income limits- because if it’s “Redistribution of Wealth”, it favors those with high incomes.
2. The Rising Cost of Education-
My question is how does the lowering of the cost of education is a benefit for no income cap? I agree- we need to lower the cost of education, but the rising cost of education is the exact reason why we need a income cap. Take my situation:
If they put the cap on income, my family may not be able to qualify for the HOPE, but my kids are going to college anyway. Without HOPE, my kids will go to a small, in-state college that is a better value than some of the larger institutions. And they will stay home. Some people don’t have that option.
So let’s work on lowering education costs and tuition, but that’s a separate track. Until they do, put a cap on income to help fix the budget issues.
GOP: Senate Democrats have a plan for HOPE. It’s called bankruptcy | Get Schooled | Georgia HOPE Scholarship | Scoop.it
February 6th, 2012
8:36 am
[...] background-position: 50% 0px; background-color:#222222; background-repeat : no-repeat; } blogs.ajc.com – Today, 8:36 [...]
Kevin
February 6th, 2012
8:57 am
Republicans fought tooth and nail against the creation of HOPE and it’s no wonder they want to dismantle it now. The HOPE Scholarship and Pre-K programs are the pride of Georgia. Shut up and FUND them.
Income Cap on those who run the lottery
February 6th, 2012
9:17 am
We need to have an income cap on those who run the lottery. If the facts stated above are true, then only about 26% of all the lottery money collected goes toward Hope and Pre-K.
Where does the other money go? The other 74%? Some goes to pay lottery winners and some goes to advertising but the majority goes to ridiculously overpaid administrators. Let’s put an income cap on them.
GM
Centrist
February 6th, 2012
8:55 pm
Kudos to Maureen Downey for publishing this – probably not in line with her preferred political party politics.
HOPE is not a scholarship
February 6th, 2012
9:17 pm
The HOPE in no way represents “scholarship” although some hard working students receive needed funding. Scholarship represents academic excellence and the B averages awarded to less than average students tell the story. Students that require remedial studies in a college environment are awarded this stipend – which is what it is. The fund is further raided by the vote buying of free PreK which has shown zero results in academic superiority other than those attending private schools (which don’t get the money). Mismanaged without apology. As on the national level, we get what we deserve. People have to realize that not every student is meant for college.
The current state of the HOPE rings of Fannie Mae. Bawney Fwank’s influence runs far and wide.
bill
February 6th, 2012
9:42 pm
Other countries our kicking our butt on education. Maybe just maybe its because college is free, if you dont fail you go to school.Where here students are taking on a great amount of debt to wind up with no job. Also you are not happy with a black guy in the white house just say that instead of this communism or the nazi’s nonsense. He has bascially been doing the same things Bush and Dick deficits dont matter Cheney did and you didnt say boo back then.
J
February 6th, 2012
10:39 pm
If one of the MAIN goals of HOPE was to keep the brightest GA kids in GA, why don’t we just look at the numbers concerning how many HOPE grads actually stay here? That would clearly demonstrate the long-term impact of the scholarship and whether or not it truly accomplishes what it set out to do.
Oh, wait. No one has ever bothered to conduct such a study.