21st Century Scholars Program Needs A Boost To Its Budget

The General Assembly reconvened Tuesday, with many legislators saying education is their main focus for the 2015 session. While much of the attention will be on K-12 policies, one higher education scholarship requiring more money.

The 21st Century Scholarship Program helps low-income students pay for college if they keep a certain GPA and meet other program requirements. The program has seen the number of students enrolled in it double, outgrowing its current budget. The Commission for Higher Education is requesting around $90 million for the next two years to keep the program going.

Senate appropriations chair Luke Kenley says the program is vital for the state to get more kids graduation high school and going to some sort of college.

"The people who qualify for the 21st Century Scholarship programs are one of our best target groups," Kenley said. "Quite often they are the first person in their family to go to college, and that's exactly who we want to see getting these opportunities if they proven that they have the ability to make it."

Kenley says if the legislature doesn’t give the program new funds, they’ll likely have to dip into other scholarship funds.