Governor’s scholarship plan trimmed back
Legislative budget writers this morning debated a proposal to go along with Gov. Butch Otter’s plan to set aside $50 million in a trust fund for scholarships for needy students next year, another to put $20 million in, and a third to put in $10 million – matching last year’s deposit – and allow for $2 million in one-time funding for scholarship awards next year, to match what was funded this year. The $50 million proposal, backed by Sen. Elliot Werk, D-Boise, got only three votes. The $20 million proposal, from Rep. Shirley, Ringo, D-Moscow, got just four votes, from the panel’s four Democrats. Then, the original $10 million motion passed 19-1, with just Rep. Cliff Bayer, R-Boise, objecting.
This year, the Opportunity Scholarship program is handing out roughly 700 scholarships of up to $3,000 to needy Idaho college students. They’ll have to apply again next year to keep their scholarships, but those who got them this year will have priority. Demand for the scholarships has been huge, and more than twice as many students qualified as received awards.
Ringo argued for dipping into the state’s overflowing reserve funds, if necessary, to make a one-time deposit into the scholarship trust fund. “I know that we’re under some very challenging constraints,” she said. “I wouldn’t indicate that I’m willing to raid other budgets that are austere, but I would be willing to explore rather extraordinary measures to fund this, even to the extent of perhaps borrowing or taking from some of the available pots of money.”
Senate Finance Chairman Dean Cameron, R-Rupert, said the governor is “to be commended” for making the scholarship proposal. “Unfortunately, when he set his budget, resources were at a different point, revenue was at a different projection, and we were not facing the difficulty that we’re facing today,” he told the committee. “And while we do have money in reserve accounts and our budget stabilization account and the public schools stabilization account, now is not the time to be withdrawing from those accounts in order to balance the budget. I would gently ask you that if you can’t balance the budget on projected revenues now, how will it be when revenues are even worse, if in fact things continue in the direction that they have been?”
Cameron noted that budget decisions that still haven’t been made – including funding for public schools and higher education – will be “really tough decisions.” He said, “While scholarships are important, they’re not more important than some of the other issues, like appropriately funding higher education or appropriately funding public education.”
The approved budget eliminates $2 million in ongoing funding for the scholarships that lawmakers approved last year, but replaces that with $2 million in one-time funds. That means next year’s scholarships will be for the same amount as this year’s, plus any extra from earnings on the existing trust fund. The following year, lawmakers would again have to decide whether to add to the earnings to keep scholarships at the same level.
