Promise Scholarship

American Indian-run casinos can give directly to a local school district's scholarship fund under legislation that unanimously moved out of the Senate Appropriations Committee today.

Track this Bill SB 1097, sponsored by Sen. Ron JELINEK (R-Three Oaks), came at the request of the New Buffalo School District, which hoped to replace the now-extent state-sponsored Promise Scholarship Grant with their own scholarship program funded by an allotment given to the schools by the new Four Winds casino.

Feb. 2010

Michigan college graduates who were part of the 2007 high school graduating class could get their $4,000 Michigan Promise through an income tax credit, under a plan Gov. Jennifer GRANHOLM proposed today.

Lawmakers last year scratched funding for the $75.5 million scholarship as part of their budget-balancing plan. Granholm reluctantly signed the bill in the hopes the public could pressure the Legislature to find money to resurrect the program for Fiscal Year (FY) 2010. She was unsuccessful.

Although lawmakers may have faced a controversial vote wiping out funding for the Promise Grant in the completed 2009-10 higher education budget, at some point they will have to face another vote related to the issue.

That's because in order for the general fund to be balanced through the use of the college scholarship money legislators will have to vote on a bill transferring $140 million in the Merit Award Trust Fund to the state's main checking account.

At this point it's not clear whether that effort would start in the House, which introduced the higher education budget, or in the Senate where Republicans originally proposed the program's elimination.

Good morning MASSP Members,

Time for a pause

I remember an article I wrote at the end of my year as president of our association. It was about those few minutes between the end of one school year and the start of the next. It’s that time when you say good-bye to the students and teachers leaving for their summer break, and that awaiting meeting to discuss next year issues. There is that minute or two, without pressure to “get it done” that you get to reflect on the past year.

Well, this is my pause.

East Lansing -- College students are expected to gather at Michigan State University on Wednesday in support of a state-funded scholarship that helps them pay tuition bills.

The Michigan Senate has voted to eliminate funding for the Michigan Promise scholarship in the fiscal year that starts Oct. 1. Gov. Jennifer Granholm's administration wants to save at least a portion of the program that now provides up to $4,000 per student to help offset tuition costs.

About 96,000 students heading into school this fall are expecting a portion of the scholarship money.

The scholarship is in danger because of Michigan's growing state budget problems.

The Michigan State University College Democrats are helping to organize Wednesday's rally.

While students are making some progress on the Michigan Merit Exam in math, social studies and writing, with the same or worse scores in other subject areas, still fewer than half of students are proficient in writing and math and, overall, scores don't reflect college readiness, Superintendent of Public Instruction Mike Flanagan said on Tuesday.

Writing and math scores each improved by three points this year, with 44 percent of 11th grade students scoring proficient or advanced in 2009 compared to 41 percent in 2008 and 49 percent receiving those marks in math this year compared to 46 percent last year, according to test results released by the Department of Education.

Dear Representative Bauer and Committee Members:

Today, Michigan Legislators are facing many difficult, unpopular
decisions. As high school principals who are put between ‘a rock and a hard place’ each day, we empathize with what you are going through.

In 1999, MASSP provided testimony to the Senate as to the critical need for an award system that would provide an incentive for students to take the HS MEAP. MASSP has not wavered in our support of the

State Senate Republicans Propose Steep Spending Cuts, Including Elimination of Michigan Promise Scholarships
Posted by Peter Luke | Lansing Bureau June 16, 2009 21:51PM

LANSING -- Aiming for $1.2 billion in state budget reductions, Senate Republicans this week are pushing through some of the steepest spending cuts in recent memory, including the elimination of the $4,000 Michigan Promise college scholarship.

TRACKING THE STORY
Proposed cuts being taken up in the Michigan Senate this week:
• Elimination of the Michigan Promise scholarships: $140 million
• Cuts in needs-based scholarships: $60 million
• Cut to revenue sharing to cities and townships: $165 million.

Thursday, June 18, 2009
Editorial: Save the scholarships
Governor, lawmakers must find budget cuts elsewhere to preserve state college scholarships
The Detroit News

Not so long ago, it would have seemed odd to hear so much talk about education at a summit devoted to reviving America's industrial might.

But speaker after speaker at the National Summit on the economy in Detroit emphasized the fact that a strong manufacturing base depends on a highly skilled work force.

Chip McClure, chief executive officer of auto parts maker Arvin Meritor, said his factories require workers with at least a high school diploma and often a two-year college degree.