Governor Wolf Continues Push For $200 Million Scholarship Program To Lower Student Debt
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- At Millersville University on Thursday, Gov. Tom Wolf repeated his call for a special scholarship program for college students who agree to stay in Pennsylvania following graduation.
As money editor Jon Delano explains, the governor wants state lawmakers to use unspent American Rescue Plan dollars to fund the program.
Only three states have higher tuition costs than Pennsylvania, and our students, on average, graduate with a student debt of $39,000. That, says Wolf, needs to change.
"When the brightest and best of Pennsylvania cannot pursue higher education simply because it is unaffordable, that means we are all doing something wrong," Wolf said on Thursday.
Wolf has embraced a $200 million Nellie Bly Scholarship program, a need-based grant program for students in community college or at one of the 14 state universities who agree to stay in the state after graduation for the same number of years they received a scholarship,
Students like Ruby Mundock of Millersville welcome this support.
"Additional financial support from the Pa. government would be a win-win situation, because not only would more students have the chance to get the education we all deserve, but we would be fueling a more productive and skilled future for Pennsylvania," said Mundock.
Alyssa Dobson, Slippery Rock University's financial aid director, said thousands of students will benefit.
"Around half of those students that we currently have would be able to benefit from a program like this. I think it will do quite a bit actually to mitigate student loan debt," says Dobson.
State Sen. Wayne Fontana, who has sponsored a Senate bill to create this scholarship, said this is needed to reverse the decline in student numbers at many of the state universities.
"It will definitely help enrollment in those schools and, of course, our community colleges are great," Fontana said.
Both Fontana and House sponsor state Rep. Jordan Harris said it will take support from Republican lawmakers, who control the Legislature, to make this happen. But both are hopeful.
"We need to make it affordable. We have the resources to do it. The question is, do we have the will?" says Harris.
While unspent American Rescue Plan dollars will fund part of this scholarship, Wolf also wants to divert some money from casino slot revenues, money now funding the Racehorse Development Trust Fund. Some Republicans object to taking money from the Racehorse Fund for student scholarships.