Cash added for Hope grants

By Richard Locker, Commercial Appeal
June 14, 2007

NASHVILLE -- Students who qualify for Tennessee's lottery-funded scholarships will get an increase in the grants this fall -- but a plan to make more people eligible and Gov. Phil Bredesen's proposal for free community college are dead until 2008.

That was the coda on the state legislature's unusually long 2007 session that ended at midnight Tuesday. The planned scholarship revisions touched off the legislature's biggest 11th-hour dispute since the income-tax fight of 1999-2002.

The bottom line for students and parents: There will be no changes in eligibility or retention standards for any of the Hope Scholarships for the upcoming school year. The plan to let college students retain their grants if their grade-point average drops to 2.75 after their freshman year failed. The only change will be increases ranging from $100 to $500 in the various grants -- and that may not keep up with expected tuition and fee increases.

The governor, some legislative leaders and rank-and-file lawmakers said Wednesday they were disappointed with the failure of the scholarship reforms -- which Democrats blamed squarely on Senate Republicans who never brought the bill to a vote -- but they insisted that the legislature's accomplishments far outweighed it.

Bredesen cited the $588 million increase for education that also revises the school-funding formula, increases standards and accountability and adds 250 more pre-kindergarten classrooms; a $38 million crime package; a record $250 million deposit into the state's emergency reserve; the workplace and restaurant smoking ban; a half-cent reduction in the sales tax on grocery food, and placing 125,000 acres in the upper Cumberland Mountains into conservation.

But overhauling the scholarship program had been one of the major goals for the 2007 legislative session since before it convened in January. Scores of lawmakers filed bills to expand eligibility in different ways. Bredesen presented his own ideas to raise college and technical-school attendance -- including free community college for high school graduates scoring at least 19 on the ACT, two points less than the 21 required for the $4,000 Hope Scholarship.

One of the major items for debate was lowering the minimum GPA required to retain the grants after freshman year from the current 3.0 to 2.75. Sixty-four percent of the first 2004 class of recipients had lost their grants by last fall because their GPAs dropped below 3.0.

A Higher Education Commission task force chaired by Shelby County Mayor A C Wharton endorsed the 2.75 plan.

Several other proposals would tweak the program to make more people eligible -- more home-school students, more foster children, the children of Tennessee based religious workers out of the country, and more adults without degrees who wanted to return to college. One would let current teachers get Hope grants to return to school for certification and/or advanced degrees in math or science.

The education committees of both chambers reviewed all the proposals and, acting separately, lumped the changes they approved of into two omnibus scholarship bills. The House and Senate bills contained several common provisions -- including raising the dollar amounts of the grants and raising the family income ceiling to qualify for a $1,500 need-based supplement from the current $36,000.

But the House version was more expansive, focused on making more people eligible and including the 2.75 retention GPA. The Senate version kept the 3.0 retention GPA at four-year schools but lowered it to 2.75 at community colleges.

The House passed its bill 93-1, with obvious bipartisan support. The Senate Finance Committee recommended approval of the Senate last Friday but its sponsor, Education Committee chairman Sen. Jamie Woodson, R-Knoxville, never called up the bill for a vote or debate on the Senate floor.

Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey said more than a week ago that the differences between the two bills might mean that changes would not pass this year.

But later Tuesday afternoon, with still no Senate action and the legislature steaming toward adjournment, House leaders sent Rep. Mark Maddox, D-Dresden, and others to meet with Woodson to try to negotiate a compromise.

A tenuous compromise emerged late Tuesday that covered virtually every aspect of the bill, including one that let students keep the grants if their GPAs dropped between 2.75 and 3.0 but at a reduced amount of $3,000 rather than $4,000.

Maddox explained it to the full House, which appeared ready to accept it, adjourn and go home. But the Senate argued, with Republican leaders wanting to caucus on the new plan and Democrats begging to allow a vote on it. The Senate recessed to decide what to do.

Exasperated and long finished with its work, House leaders of both parties recommended the House adjourn for the year, which it did at 10:10 p.m. Because identical bills must win approval in both chambers, that left the Senate three options: pass the House bill without the compromise, which would send it to the governor for final approval; pass the compromise and try to force the House to return and concur, a move without precedent, or do nothing, go home and postpone action until 2008.

After more partisan wrangling, the Senate chose the latter option just before midnight.

Scholarship issues

Major provisions of the proposed compromise lottery scholarship bill, which failed Thursday:

Hope Scholarships increased from $3,800 to $4,000 at four-year schools, from $1,900 to $2,000 at two-year-schools, and from $1,500 to $2,000 at technology centers. (However, these increases will go into effect July 1 because they were approved as part of the state budget).

Household adjusted gross income to qualify for a $1,500 need-based supplement would rise from $36,000 to $40,000.

College students whose GPAs drop to between 2.75 and 3.0 retain scholarships but at $3,000 instead of $4,000.

Students could receive grants for five years of full-time classes before degree, instead of the current four.

Adults 23 and older who have never been to college or who have been away from college for two years, have obtained no degree and who otherwise qualify would become eligible.

Eligibility changes for home schoolers, foster children, and children of Tennessee missionaries working abroad -- making more eligible.

Junior and senior high school students could get grants for up to five college courses.

Public and private school teaches could qualify for grants to return to school for certification and/or advanced degrees in math and science if they commit to teach in public schools or, for private school teachers, to tutor in public schools, for two years.

No free community college for high school graduates with 19 ACT scores, but Hope scholarships for students who qualify for them would be increased by $100 at two-year schools.

General Assembly highlights

Bredesen, leaders applaud hard work

Gov. Phil Bredesen and legislative leaders applauded the General Assembly's work this year, calling it one of the most productive in years despite the failure of the lottery scholarship expansion.

Details

Bredesen: "We proved that we can manage in the tough times. This session proves we can maintain our discipline in the good times" -- a record budget surplus.

The governor cited as highlights the $588 million in additional money for education, including an overhaul of the school funding formula and more accountability measures; increasing the state's Rainy Day Fund emergency reserve by $250 million, to $750 million; the smoke-free workplace and restaurant law, and a $38 million crime package.

Senate Democratic Leader Jim Kyle of Memphis: "I think Senate Democrats had a really good year." He said the Senate's passage, on a party-line vote, of a 42-cents-per-pack cigarette tax increase made possible many of the education, crime, and tax-relief measures approved in the last two weeks.

Senate Republican Leader Mark Norris of Collierville: "This was our first session under new management (the first GOP Senate speaker in 140 years). I don't think it was flashy but it was solid and steady." He said the major accomplishments were a package of tax relief, including a half-cent sales tax cut on food, senior property tax freeze and expanding the property tax rebate for low-income elderly and disabled veterans; and improving the governor's original education proposals.

-- Richard Locker