ATLANTA-Gov. Nathan Deal is proposing a sweeping overhaul of Georgia’s lottery-funded HOPE scholarship and prekindergarten programs to keep the groundbreaking initiatives from going broke.
In an interview with The Associated Press on Monday, Deal said he would cut soaring costs by reducing HOPE awards, capping bonuses to lottery employees and trimming the amount retailers receive for selling tickets.
Created in 1993 by then-Gov. Zell Miller, the HOPE scholarship has sent more than 1 million Georgians to college and been imitated by more than a dozen states. But lottery proceeds have not kept pace with rising tuition and skyrocketing enrollment.
Deal, who took office in January, is set to announce the changes at a news conference this morning with Republican legislative leaders, who will need to usher it through the House and Senate.
About one-third of students in Georgia’s public colleges receive HOPE, and the proposed changes would affect both them and future students starting this fall.