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Legislators address Millennium Scholarship shortfall
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LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL CAPITAL BUREAU
CARSON CITY -- Legislators couldn't agree Thursday on how to cover a $4.2 million shortfall in the Millennium Scholarship fund that will occur next year.
Based on comments during an Interim Finance Committee meeting, students who qualify for the $10,000 scholarship may be shorted by about $500 during the spring semester unless legislators can come up with a solution in coming months or early in the 2011 legislative session.
Karen Duddlesten, a senior deputy state treasurer, said the law allows the treasurer's office to reduce the scholarship grants proportionately if the state does not have money to make full payments.
About 21,000 students now receive the scholarships under a program that costs about $26 million a year, and 8,000 of the recent high school graduates are expected to quality this fall.
The fund is short largely because of decisions made during the special legislative session in February to take unclaimed property funds that had been used to partly pay for the scholarship program. This money instead will be sent to the state general fund to help cover an $800 million state shortfall.
The primary source of funds for the program, however, has been the money Nevada receives from the tobacco industry to cover costs it incurs for smoking-related illnesses. Because of the decline in smoking, however, the money from the tobacco industry settlement declined precipitously this spring.
Legislative leaders during the special session assured students and fellow legislators that the Millennium Scholarship program was solvent through 2014. The treasurer's office contended it was not notified of the drop in tobacco money until after the special session.
At the Thursday meeting, treasurer's office officials said they recently placed $10 million from an unexpected increase in unclaimed property funds in the general fund.
Steve George, deputy chief of staff, said the office considered using $5 million of that money to cover the coming Millennium Scholarship shortfall, but were told by lawyers that was not legally possible.
Brenda Erdoes, the legislative counsel, said legislation passed at the special permission does not permit the transfer of unclaimed property funds now to the Millennium Scholarship program.
"There is a shortfall and it is our fault," responded Sen. Bob Coffin, D-Las Vegas. "We can make it up, but it has to be at a full legislative session (next February). The IFC can't do it."
Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford, D-Las Vegas, said after the meeting that Coffin was wrong. He said no one knew at the time of the special session that there would be a drop in tobacco funds.
He said he will call another meeting within a couple of week to look at all options for bailing out the Millennium Scholarship program , "so those students and their families who are expecting scholarships will get them."
Horsford suggested during the meeting that the Legislature use $2.8 million in a College Savings Plan endowment to cover part of the shortfall.
But Senate Minority Leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno, objected, contending it would be a "violation of a trust."
Parents contribute money to the college savings program that is invested by the state and made available when their children enter college.
Duddlesten, however, said the money in the endowment funds comes from fees paid to the state by the firms that actually invest college savings funds. Erdoes said state law allows the endowment funds to be used for assisting Nevadans in obtaining college educations.
The board of the College Savings Plan earlier rejected giving more than $200,000 to the Millennium Scholarship program.
Coffin, however, agreed with Raggio that taking the endowment funds would violate a trust. He said using the endowment funds to make up a shortfall in an entirely different college program made him nervous.
The treasurer's office has estimated the Millennium Scholarship program could fall $13 million short by 2013 unless legislators find ways to increase funding or limit the scholarships.
Students now must have at least a 3.25 grade-point average and pass all core subjects and all sections of the Nevada high school proficiency exam to qualify.
Contact Capital Bureau Chief Ed Vogel at evogel@reviewjournal.com or 775-687-3901.
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This is what happen when you give the government access to money extorted from private business. They spend their little hearts away. A bunch of do gooders who know better than anyone else. I find it funny when the government elites talk about corruption in the private sector when it is worse in the public sector. We need term limits so these kind don't have a chance to get to much of a power hold and just get their chance to spend public money in a wasteful way. I'm speaking of Mr Reid too. His time is up.
Too bad that the gobermint got too greedy with their taxes on tobacco products. I finally quit smoking...and the gobermint paid for all of my patches.
Can you believe that I finally got something for FREE from our gobermint?
One more qualification should be included for receiving these funds is U.S citizen, or LEGAL immigrant.
Correction. It was Guinn, not Bob Miller that set this beast in motion. Miller is a topic for another day.
Idiots. We are dealing with government idiots. Unintended consequences from Bob Miller, idiot governor. Folks, we are TOO BROKE TO BE THIS STUPID!
The Millennium Scholarship program was Gov Guinn's gift to the state, a gift that should never have happened. The money the State of Nevada receives should have gone for its intended purpose, health care related to smoking issues. But, more importantly this money, no matter how it has been spent, should be spent on legal American citizens only, not on illegals draining UMC of millions of dollars monthly for uninsured covered services or for the education of illegals or children of illegals. The time is fast approaching when American citizens will say enough is enough and rid the city, county, state and federal government of all the bleeding heart, elected, liberals who feel illegals are entitled to services and facilities at legal American taxpayes expense. One fact/statistic that I have not seen in this article or opinions is, if the Millennium Scholarship is money well spent how ome Nevada's graduates rank 51st in the country?
Actually to one or more readers here this article has nothing to do with the Millennium Scholarship fund and everything to do with the promotion of Horsford and his Nevada State Regime of cronies. If you few here are so blind to think otherwise, my suggestion is that you continue to vote your liberal emotions and see what it gets you.
Perhaps we have multiple valedictorians at high schools because the teachers/schools are doing something right, and students are getting the support at home that they need to succeed.
Many Millennium scholars fail to qualify for needs-based or academic scholarships (hard to compete with all those valedictorians) but still do quite well in college. They deserve a little help too. After all a more educated individual is less likely to smoke, thus not placing a burden on our health care system.
Has anyone bothered to ask how many students receiving this scholarship are here legally? After attending a high school graduation earlier this month I can tell you that the majority of the students and families there either did not speak english at all or barely did. These scholarships were set up for American students, period! By the way, I am usually described as a bleeding heart liberal, so don't bother with the political comments, I am just tired of being treated as second class because everyone thinks we should have to cater to those that have already broken laws by coming here without papers!!
Awwww. Those poor freeloading students! Having to take a $500 cut out of $10,000 of OUR money?
Time to go out into the real world, kids. Grow up. Pay your OWN way through college if you want to go.