LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) - A popular scholarship program funded
mainly by Kentucky Lottery proceeds may be reviewed during the
upcoming General Assembly session, but education leaders and key
lawmakers say wholesale changes are unlikely.
The Kentucky Educational Excellence Scholarship program provides
scholarship money to high school students who meet certain academic
standards, such as a 2.5 grade-point average and an ACT score of at
least 15. Only students attending colleges in Kentucky and a select
few out-of-state schools receive the scholarships.
"The ACT standard probably should be increased," Democratic
Rep. Carl Rollins of Midway, the House Education Committee
chairman, told the Lexington Herald-Leader for a Sunday story.
The amount a student receives depends on grade-point average and
bonus amounts on ACT scores. The amounts range from a student with
a 2.5 GPA earning $125 per year in college to a 4.0 student who
scores a 28 or above on the ACT collecting $1,000 for each year
enrolled, the newspaper reported.
Robert L. King, president of the Kentucky Council on
Postsecondary Education, said he would like to see more rigorous
criteria for the scholarships.
"Potentially, you would make the resources more meaningful to
those who do qualify," he said.