Today on the Senate floor, some Georgia lawmakers stood up to explain why they don’t want to save HOPE this year. They gave a lot of reasons, including their support of Gov. Deal’s 25 new scholarships in three counties called the REACH scholarship. That’s enough scholarships for some politicians, I suppose. But time and again,… [Read More]
Infographic: Georgia HOPE Scholarship in Crisis
We all know the value of the HOPE Scholarship. In fact, 1.4 million Georgians have earned a HOPE Scholarship since the program started in 1993. But today the HOPE Scholarship is on the verge of financial collapse. Because the complicated policy issues around the program is tough to understand, Better Georgia put together an infographic… [Read More]
HOPE Scholarship: More Georgia voices
We’re within striking distance of 1,000 signatures for Better Georgia’s “Save Georgia’s HOPE Scholarship” petition drive. Representatives from the General Assembly have begun responding to everyone who has signed the petition. This is the earliest sign that our voices are being heard under the Gold Dome. We believe there are more than 1,000 people in… [Read More]
Save Georgia’s HOPE Scholarship: Start by speaking up
The HOPE Scholarship is going broke. Over the past year, the state spent $305 million less on student awards than the previous year. Georgia’s HOPE Scholarship has not been fully funded since 2008. As a result, many students take on expensive college debt and there’s an increasing number of students who leave school without finishing… [Read More]
HOPE Scholarship: Georgia speaks out to save it
In the first 24 hours of our petition drive to save the HOPE Scholarship, more than 660 people have pledged support. Georgia residents realize that the HOPE Scholarship is going broke. And they also know that Gov. Nathan Deal has vowed to ignore the failing program. At Better Georgia, we’re excited to hear your voices,… [Read More]
State Sen. Buddy Carter’s HOPE solution: ‘look at it’
The Georgia HOPE Scholarship is in crisis. Today’s high school freshmen will not see the HOPE Scholarship as we know it. You might think this might be a time for Georgia’s lawmakers to show some urgency. They must be frantically trying to find a solution. Sadly, that’s apparently not the case. Better Georgia Executive Director… [Read More]
Survey: Georgia Supports Need-Based HOPE Scholarships
In our first survey of Georgia voters, Better Georgia discovered strong support for proposed legislation that would return the failing HOPE Scholarship program to its original intent of serving Georgia families with the most need. By more than a 2 to 1 margin, voters support a $100,000 family income cap to help make sure Georgia’s… [Read More]
Save HOPE Scholarships: 5 easy things you can do now
On Sunday we learned that last year’s fix to the HOPE Scholarship program is now broken, too. Essentially, the only way for Georgia’s HOPE Scholarship program to survey is for Georgia’s students to fail. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Sunday the worsening outlook for this educational treasure that has helped send more than 1.3 million students… [Read More]
Keep Georgia’s promise: Restore the HOPE Scholarship
Georgia broke a promise to college-bound students. Earlier this year, thousands of students who thought good grades were enough to qualify for a HOPE scholarship lost the opportunity with no advanced notice. The problem facing our Legislature is real. Money generated from Georgia’s state lottery pays for the HOPE Scholarship. That revenue has slowed while… [Read More]