Georgia HOPE Scholarship Finds Increased Revenues From Truck Stops, Convenience Stores
This summer, the Georgia HOPE (Helping Outstanding Pupils Educationally) scholarship program will be expanded by receiving funds from coin-operated gambling machines and video poker machines.
The merit-based HOPE program, founded in 1993 by former governor Zell Miller, rewards students with scholarships funded entirely by the Georgia Lottery. Until the Georgia House passed Bill 487 in March, coin-operated video poker machines were exempt from the Georgia Lottery rules, sending their revenues to a state tax collection agency, rather than directly to the scholarship fund. When the program began, video poker machines were not defined as part of the lottery system.
Once the measure is put into action, the Georgia Lottery is unsure how much revenue will be accrued from these machines, which are mostly found in truck stops and convenience stores. The legislative changes ensure consistent measures are taken towards gambling, allowing more money to enter the Lottery for Education Fund, which provided over $900 million toward funding pre-K and higher education in 2012 alone.
According to the Georgia Student Finance Commission, the HOPE program has provided $6.8 billion to over 1.6 million Georgia students since 1993. The program rewards students solely upon outstanding academic merit, without making distinctions between existing financial need and student achievement. Until 1995, families who made over $100,000 were not eligible to receive funds, but this income cap was abolished.
Funds provided by the state differ depending on the school, but provide full-time SCAD students with $1,200 per quarter. Eligible students must have received a high school diploma with a 3.0 GPA, and students with other diploma types with a 3.3 GPA.
The HOPE program began offering an extended scholarship in 2011, the Zell Miller Scholarship, which provides an additional $1,333 per quarter for students with a 3.7 GPA and more than a 1200 score on the SAT or 26 on the ACT.
The program began with two key goals in mind. The first was to fund higher education for academically superior students who might not be able to afford a college education. The second was to counter a phenomena referred to as “brain drain,” encouraging top students to pursue higher education within the state, rather than going to school elsewhere. Southern states in particular have had to combat cases of brain drain in recent decades, especially within more rural settings.
Until the law is put into effect, the program is unsure how much new revenue will be generated from including these new machines in the lottery program. Although the HOPE program does not currently offer full-ride scholarships, the additional funds may allow them to provide full-ride scholarships to students in the future, as well as increase partial scholarships as tuition costs continue to rise throughout the country.