Tuition help set for more in state

The Arkansas Legislative Council on Friday voted to use $2 million in the state’s “rainy-day” funds to offer nearly two-thirds more Governor’s Distinguished Scholarships to eligible students.

• READ MORE: 91st General Assembly

The scholarships pay up to $10,000 per year for tuition, fees and room and board at public or private colleges or universities in the state. The scholarship requires students to enroll in the fall semester immediately after graduation, according to the state Department of Higher Education.

Department Director Shane Broadway told the Legislative Council that his agency had funding to offer the scholarships to 300 students but wanted to extend offers to 193 others who were eligible.

“We started noticing early on that it was going to be a record number,” Broadway said.

Broadway said 412 students were eligible for the scholarships last year, but usually about 20 percent of eligible students choose to go to school out of state and not accept the scholarship.

This year, only about 7 percent of eligible students have said they plan to go out of state, leaving 193 students on the waiting list, he said.

Broadway said he wanted to tell those students what funding the state could provide by May 1, which he called “decision day” for most schools.

“We needed to at least notify them that they would have an opportunity for a scholarship or not as quickly as possible,” Broadway said.

To receive the Governor’s Distinguished Scholarship, students must score 32 or higher on a single ACT or get a combined score of 1410 from the math and critical-reasoning sections of the SAT.

The scholarship also requires a grade-point average of 3.5 or above or selection as a National Merit Finalist or National Achievement Finalist, according to the department.

Sen. Bruce Maloch, D-Magnolia, asked the committee to approve the funds and said the additional scholarships would entice top students to study in state. The measure passed without opposition.

State Budget Administrator Brandon Sharp said the state’s rainy-day fund would still contain about $12 million after the transfer.

The governor’s office requested the additional funds in a letter to the Legislative Council dated April 14.

Matt DeCample, a spokesman for Gov. Mike Beebe, said the governor requested the money so “every student who did earn this scholarship” would receive it.

“We talk about the importance of offering all these additional options inside our college systems and working to make sure there are jobs for these students when they get their degree. … At the same time, it helps that much more if we get them to go to school here,” DeCample said.

But DeCample said the funds only fix the problem for one year.

“There’s going to have to be some sort of long-term action taken by the Legislature next year if you’re going to continue giving these scholarships to everyone who deserves them,” DeCample said.