Lansing - Infuriated by proposed spending cuts that would reduce the Michigan Merit Award scholarship to $500, Republican lawmakers voiced their objections during a House subcommittee meeting Wednesday.
Originally slated at $2,500, Gov. Jennifer Granholm's proposal to trim the scholarships was submitted among a battery of cuts introduced last week.
The shrinking size of the scholarship leaves little incentive for students to attempt to participate in the Michigan Educational Assessment Program, or MEAP test, Rep. John Stewart, R-Plymouth, said.
"It's being laughed at," Stewart told a panel of state budget office officials, who testified before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Higher Education.
Under the proposal, high school students graduating in or after 2004 would be affected by the cutbacks.
In the first of four meetings focusing on higher education state funding cuts, budget officials explained the cuts to subcommittee members.
Although Granholm proposed deep cuts to the scholarship program, the creation of a need-based scholarship for high school students was also part of her budget proposal.
The Michigan Opportunity Scholarships will assist disadvantaged high school students in paying for college education. The program would be funded by the elimination of the current State Competitive Scholarship, Michigan Work-Study and other programs.
Granholm is proposing $112.4 million for the Michigan Opportunity Scholarships and $65.1 million for Michigan Merit Award scholarships for the 2004 fiscal year.
Rep. Mike Pumford, who serves on the subcommittee, said he doesn't agree with the governor's emphasis on need-based scholarships.
Before serving the state in the House, Pumford, R-Newaygo, was a high school counselor. Often times, students with similar academic achievements were treated differently by the state, he said.
"One gets a scholarship, the other gets a handshake and a certificate," he said. "I think we're sending the wrong message to students."
Jared English, director of university, governmental and budgetary affairs for ASMSU, said MSU's undergraduate student government was disappointed by Granholm's proposal.
Before the November elections, ASMSU officials and lawmakers spoke out against Proposal 4, which would have shifted the state's tobacco settlement money from the merit scholarships to health care programs. The proposal, which voters defeated, would have virtually ended the scholarships.
Despite the efforts, Granholm's proposal would quickly shift the money once again.
"They put a lot of hours into making sure that scholarship was saved and with the stroke of a pen, it's cut," English said. "It all went down the tubes."
But Pamela Horne, assistant to the provost for enrollment management and director of admissions, said because the merit scholarships aren't need-based, the cut most likely won't affect admissions.
"Students in general who have scored well enough on the MEAP exam to achieve these scholarships are students that are college bound and will find the resources to funding," Horne said. "I don't think a single $2,000 difference is going to make that much of a difference in a student's college choice."
Joey Guillen can be reached at guillenj@msu.edu. Amy Bartner can be reached at bartnera@msu.edu.
