Friday News Roundup: Week of July 26-30

At Ed Money Watch, we discuss and analyze major issues affecting education funding. In our Friday News Roundup, we try to highlight interesting stories that might otherwise get overlooked. These stories emphasize how federal and state policy changes can affect local schools and districts.

<p><b>Missouri</b><b> Reveals Maximum Need-Based Scholarship Awards, Cut From Last Year</b></p>    <p><b>New Jersey Schools Should Not Expect State Aid Increases in 2011</b></p>    <p><b>Passage of New York Budget Held Up By SUNY Tuition Measure</b></p>    <p><b>Missouri</b><b> Reveals Maximum Need-Based Scholarship Awards, Cut From Last Year</b><br>This week the Missouri Department of Higher Education released the <a href="http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/education/article_c2c07be4-99c9-11df-a2a9-0017a4a78c22.html">2010-11 maximum award</a> for the state’s scholarship program for low income students known as Access Missouri. The maximum awards were cut dramatically from $1,700 for students attending public four-year colleges and universities in the 2009-10 school year to $950 in 2010-11. Eligible students attending private four-year institutions can receive up to $1,900, down from $4,600 in 2009-10. The reduced awards came after Governor Jay Nixon announced last month that he would cut $50 million from the $82 million Access Missouri budget. The Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority was able to kick in $30 million to the fund, but with eligibility up from 86,000 students last year to 102,000 students this year, the boost wasn’t enough to maintain the maximum awards. Students and families are still waiting to hear what the maximum awards for Bright Flight, the state’s merit scholarship, will be. <a href="http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/education/article_c2c07be4-99c9-11df-a2a9-0017a4a78c22.html">More here…</a></p>    <p><b>New Jersey Schools Should Not Expect State Aid Increases in 2011</b><br>New Jersey Treasurer Andrew Sidamon-Eristoff this week warned schools in the state that they should <a href="http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/07/nj_treasurer_schools_municipal.html">not expect any increases </a>in state aid in fiscal year 2011. The state’s Office of Legislative Services recently released analysis that predicted state tax revenues to be $10.5 billion less than expected spending. Given the new law signed in March requiring the state to put more than $500 million toward its pension fund and other financial obligations, school districts say it is no surprise that they won’t be receiving additional aid. Governor Chris Christie said that any newfound money in the state budget will go first to higher education. <a href="http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/07/nj_treasurer_schools_municipal.html">More here…</a></p>    <p><b>Passage of New York Budget Held Up By SUNY Tuition Measure</b><br>New York state legislators have been struggling to reach an agreement on the state’s fiscal year 2011 budget. The budget process has become more complicated now that a <a href="http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Bloc-fights-tuition-plan-596273.php">measure to grant more autonomy</a> to the State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo has come into play. In June, State Senator Bill Stachowski of Buffalo announced he would block passage of the budget unless SUNY Buffalo was granted greater autonomy over tuition and other administrative matters. Given the cuts to state aid to higher education, Stachowski said SUNY Buffalo needed to be able to set its own tuition to continue to operate and maintain high-quality academic offerings. Opponents worry that allowing different branches of the SUNY system to operate independently could create a two-tiered higher education system in the state, leaving low-income and middle-class students unable to pay the higher tuition at the state’s best schools.<a href="http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Bloc-fights-tuition-plan-596273.php"> More here…</a></p>    <p><b>Briefly Noted</b></p>  <ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"><li>Washington Governor Chris Gregoire forms <a href="http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2012475215_goveducation.html">higher education funding task force</a> to increase the number of degrees earned in the state.<p>&nbsp;</p></li></ul><!--break-->