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LT. GOVERNOR DISCUSSES LOTTERY WITH CIVIC CLUB

By Ray King/OF THE COMMERCIAL STAFF
Friday, October 2, 2009 12:33 AM CDT

With the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery in its fourth day Thursday, its chief proponent, Arkansas Lt. Gov. Bill Halter, told a Pine Bluff civic club Thursday the lottery already has produced about $1 million in scholarships for the state’s students.

“By year four of the program, I expect over 40,000 students will be on scholarship because of the lottery,” Halter told the West Pine Bluff Rotary Club at the Pine Bluff Country Club.

As he did when he spoke to the County Judges Association meeting in Pine Bluff last week, Halter asked members of the club to “get out and talk to students, parents, and people in the education community and convey to them that any student who graduates from high school with a 2.5 grade point average or scores 19 on the ACT (American College Test) and attends an Arkansas college will get a scholarship.”

“That is state law,” Halter said. “Don’t just talk to seniors but to juniors and sophomores too and tell them there’s a scholarship waiting for them if they do what they’re supposed to and play by the rules.”

Noting that Arkansas is ranked 49th out of the 50 states in the percentage of its population with a college degree, Halter said one of the reasons for that is that many people feel they can’t afford college.

“We’re changing that view of what’s possible by saying your fellow Arkansans are behind you and they’re supporting you,” he said.

Halter said the success of the El Dorado Promise, a program created by Murphy Oil that provides college scholarships for students in El Dorado, proves that the lottery scholarship will work.

“In its first year, the number of students from the El Dorado School District who enrolled in college increased from 60 to 80 percent,” Halter said. “In its second year, that went to 86 percent, and the third year numbers are not in but according to a survey, 95 percent said they planned to enroll in college.”

Asked how much money should be available for each scholarship beginning in 2010, Halter said the lottery is expected to produce $100 million a year after expenses, which, according to the law, would translate into $5,000 per year for students attending four-year colleges and universities and $2,500 for students attending two-year colleges.

“If it’s more than $100 million, it will be more and if it’s less than $100 million it will be less,” Halter said.

Dr. Phil Shirley, president of Southeast Arkansas College, who was in attendance at the Rotary Club meeting, said that $2,500 would “basically pay the tuition and some of the fees for students carrying 15 hours or more per semester.”

While he admitted that he approved of much of the legislation which created the lottery, Halter said he would have liked to see the general assembly do more for non-traditional students, primarily adults who go part time and/or at night.

“I would like to see the lottery pay their first-year if they go part time, and if they earn a 2.5 GPA (grade point average) or better, pay for the second year,” he said. “The key to getting them back in school is getting them over the hurdles that are keeping them out in the first place.

“I didn’t win that one in the last legislative session but that’s something I hope to see in the future,” Halter said.

On another subject, Halter said the current setup for the lottery will not pay scholarships for students seeking advanced degrees, and if students have received other scholarships, such as for tuition and books, the lottery funds can be used only to cover the remaining costs of attending college, such as housing, fees, etc.

“They’re not going to be able to make money by going to school,” he said.

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