Mich. Promise fund cut by Senate subcommittee

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Michigan college students who rely on the Promise Scholarship may need to find another way to come up with cash for school.

On Tuesday, a state Senate appropriations subcommittee voted to eliminate the Michigan Promise Scholarship and drastically cut funding for need-based grant programs. The bill came before the full Senate appropriations committee Wednesday. At press time, results of the committee’s discussion were unknown.

The Promise Scholarship provides up to $4,000 for high school graduates who complete at least two years of post-secondary education.

The students must have qualified through the Michigan Merit Exam. The cuts will only affect those who graduated in or after 2007. The scholarship is a $140-million program.

Almost 11,000 MSU students use the Promise Scholarship, university spokesman Tom Oswald said. The numbers came from the Office of Financial Aid, which declined to comment until a final legislative decision is made by both the state House and Senate, as well as by Gov. Jennifer Granholm.

History junior Bryan Morrison, who receives money from the Promise Scholarship, said it’s going to be more difficult for students to pay tuition if the program is cut.

“I feel like not everyone’s going to have enough money to go to school,” Morrison said.

“There won’t be any job opportunities, like it’ll be harder for them to get jobs to make up for that. … It’ll put people in a bind for sure.”

State Sen. Roger Kahn, R-Saginaw, who voted for the bill, said although he does not want to cut funding for education, it’s necessary given the state’s deficit of about $1.7 billion.

“Am I happy about this? Do I want this to happen? No, I don’t. There is no proposal out there for tax increases that I’m aware of and therefore there’s no money,” Kahn said.

Granholm spokeswoman Megan Brown said the governor will not support cutting the program.

“We support the Michigan Promise Scholarship — it supports our beliefs that everyone should continue their education beyond high school,” Brown said. “We oppose efforts to eliminate the scholarship.”

Kahn said the cuts weren’t just targeted at education — other areas such as health care have had deeper slashes.

“This was not directed at the education community,” Kahn said. “Actually, the education community had one of the smallest cuts as compared to others.”

State Sen. Glenn Anderson, D-Westland, said in an e-mailed statement that he voted against the cuts because college should be affordable and accessible to all students, regardless of income.

“We must not allow a college diploma to become out of reach for students who do not meet a test of personal wealth,” Anderson said.

MSU Trustee Dianne Byrum said the university is planning for any outcome in regard to the state budget and the Promise Scholarship.

“It’s part of the overall budget discussion. The university has always had a commitment to put money in scholarships based on need — we’re looking to increase the commitment,” Byrum said. “The university will not be able to make up the entire difference (of what students might be losing).”

The Promise Scholarship wasn’t the only education grant cut in the subcommittee’s proposal. The $7.3 million work-study grant, the $2.7-million part-time independent grant and the $2.1-million Education Opportunity Grant were eliminated by the subcommittee.

The $35.5 million for State Competitive Scholarships, $56.7 million for Tuition Grants for students at independent colleges and the $4.2 million for the Nursing Grant were all reduced in the subcommittee’s proposal.

The cuts totaled $108.5 million, but the subcommittee proposed $89.8 million for Michigan College Access Grants to replace some of the cuts, resulting in an $18.8 million reduction in need-based financial aid.

State legislators must approve the budget by Oct. 1.

– Staff writer Daniel Luscombe contributed to this report.

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