Scholarship would help
low-income B students

The idea is one of several that
proposes public help with tuition

Any low-income student who graduates from a public high school in Hawaii with at least a B average would get a scholarship to any four-year University of Hawaii campus or community college under a proposal being advanced by Senate Higher Education Chairman Clayton Hee.

Low-income families helped Highlights of the B Plus Scholarship Program: Proposed: A $12 million fund to pay for tuition at any University of Hawaii campus for low-income public high school students who graduate with a B average or better Who would qualify: Preliminary state Department of Education figures indicate that about 700 seniors statewide would be eligible for the scholarship. Students who receive free or reduced-price lunches would qualify for the scholarship. Federal guidelines for the free and reduced-price lunch program vary by family size. For example, students coming from a family of four making $40,108 a year or less are eligible for reduced-price meals.

Hee is proposing to create a $12 million "B Plus" scholarship fund that would pay tuition for students who can maintain at least a 3.0 grade-point average and whose families qualify for the federal free and reduced-price lunch program.

"This will help the poorest of the poor," Hee (D, Kahuku-Kaneohe) said yesterday.

His proposal comes as UH holds a series of meetings on a steep tuition increase beginning in 2006, and after the budget passed by the House this week did not include a one-time $20 million appropriation for a state scholarship fund sought by UH and the governor. Hee said the Senate also does not support the $20 million.

However, halfway through the legislative session, it appears that the idea of using taxpayer money for scholarships is still alive.

House Vice Speaker K. Mark Takai said he is pushing a proposal to provide an annual appropriation for scholarships of perhaps $4 million over several years.

UH lobbyist David Morihara, director of governmental relations, said another bill that would provide scholarships for nursing students is also still moving through the Legislature.

"Financial assistance for students is not dead," Morihara said yesterday. "We're examining different ideas and different ways of doing it."

According to preliminary figures from the state Department of Education, about 700 graduating seniors would qualify for the B Plus tuition scholarship this year.

Hee said he is naming the B Plus scholarship after the A+ after-school program started by his friend, former Gov. Ben Cayetano.

"The B Plus state scholarship continues this commitment to working-class families by offering an 'after high school' scholarship program," Hee said in a news release.

He said the $12 million is a starting point, acknowledging that the Legislature might need to add more money to the scholarship fund in future years.

Linda Johnsrud, UH interim vice president for academic planning and policy, said she likes the B Plus proposal.

"I think it's a terrific idea," she said. "I like the combination of need-based plus merit."

Morihara and Johnsrud said that in addition to any state funds, UH is committed to using some of the money from the tuition increase for scholarships.

UH wants a scholarship fund so it can eventually do away with tuition waivers -- not charging tuition as a form of scholarship.

The university wants to replace tuition waivers with cash scholarships, noting that Hawaii is one of the few states that does not have a state scholarship fund.

Students who get tuition waivers do not qualify for federal Pell Grant assistance, officials said, meaning UH misses out on a share of those federal funds.

UH officials wanted the $20 million to start up a revolving fund that would be used for tuition and then be reimbursed from the tuition special fund the following year.

Takai (D, Newtown-Pearl City) said the House opposed the one-time $20 million grant because it is really a $20 million budget increase for the university. He said the university can already create the scholarship fund through current tuition revenues.

However, Takai said he does support an ongoing appropriation for scholarships that will expand the number of students who receive financial assistance.