An endowment scholarship designed to help older adults attend school has been reduced by the Wyoming legislature.
After amendments in the Senate, the endowment, which was originally $50 million, was reduced to $10 million to be transferred from the state’s Legislative Stabilization Reserve Account (LSRA)
The tomorrow scholarship fund is outlined in Senate Bill HB0031 and includes several requirements for eligibility.
The student must be over the age of 24, have been a Wyoming resident for at least one year before applying, have filed an application for federal student aid, and have registered with the Department of Workforce Services for applicable training assistance.
Students would be able to receive up to $7,200 while attending either UW or one of Wyoming’s community colleges.
An amendment brought forth by Senator Drew Perkins failed in the senate. Amendment 1 would have transferred unappropriated funds from the budget reserve account into the LSRA.
The tomorrow scholarship endowment would receive funding from the budget reserve account until the fund reached $50 million.
Senator Perkins argued for the importance of being able to fund the endowment in a variety of ways.
“It’s a way to do this if we continue to have a windfall from high gas and oil prices- that this can be funded,” Perkins said in the senate floor budget discussion on Tuesday.
“This program makes sure there is some money to continue the retraining that we need.”
Senator Larry Hicks argued against the amendment and cautioned against setting aside the endowment money.
“If you do this, you don’t ever get to appropriate the money,” Hicks said. “This is called an auto-appropriation that you never see.”
Hicks said it would be better if the legislature was able to appropriate money according to different immediate needs in the state, such as K-12 education.
“Excess revenue when we have a structural deficit makes no sense.”
Senator Jeff Wasserburger supported the amendment and the funding of the endowment, citing Wyoming’s history of using endowments like the Hathaway fund to help the state.
“We have had a long history of endowments in this state, and this would be one that would help,” Wasserburger said.
“I think in this next year you’re going to see a record year in LSRA,” Wasserburger said. “Taking 50 million dollars out of it isn’t going to hurt it in any way.”
Erin Taylor, Executive Director of the Wyoming Association of Community College Trustees, said that the endowment would help Wyoming’s economy and had the support of many industry leaders in the state.
“States that have higher levels of education attainment, we have the economic data to show that they have growing economies,” Taylor said. “That’s what we’ve been talking about in Wyoming for decades, how to grow and diversify our economy.”
Taylor added that Wyoming has been facing a challenging fiscal time, with budget cuts in many areas including higher education.
“What’s really neat about the bill is that it includes a lot of participation from industry in Wyoming,” Taylor added.
“Taylor said that the bill will allow for people who have already entered the workforce to receive new skills and fill roles that are needed in industries throughout the state.”
“This is one of the most significant bills in my opinion because we are truly investing in our people,” Taylor said.
