A widely supported measure to rein in the cost of TOPS by decoupling the scholarships from the cost of tuition sailed through a House committee Wednesday without objection.
Legislators soon will begin looking for ways to fill a shortfall in TOPS program funding, from which Gov. John Bel Edwards cut roughly $180 million for the 2016-2017 budget. It may not be resolved until a special session to raise more money is called in June, if the governor elects to call it.
Senate Bill 174, by Sen. Jack Donahue, R-Mandeville, would no longer link the cost of tuition to TOPS. If passed, and tuition was raised, students would be left to pay the difference between the current TOPS allotment and the actual cost of tuition, unless the Legislature specifically chooses to raise the award amount.
The measure has support from the Taylor Foundation, for which the program is named, and was passed through the legislature last year before being vetoed by then-Gov. Bobby Jindal, who called it a “cap.” Edwards supports the measure.
Sen. Conrad Appel, R-Metairie, who presented Donahue’s bill Wednesday, insisted the measure is not a ceiling for the scholarship.
“It creates a basement,” he said–if the legislature wishes to increase the award amounts, it can. He conceded the state does not have the “deep pockets” it used to, but added, “It’s highly unlikely that budget will leave with a $180 million hole in TOPS. But we also have to take TOPS off autopilot.”
Rep. Stephanie Hilferty, R-Metairie, raised questions about low-income students who may not be able to pay the difference between their award and the tuition figure if the legislature does not keep TOPS on par with tuition.
“I look 7, 10 years into the future,” she said. “What does the TOPS program mean for a student at that point? Because it could be a small portion of the cost of college.”
Appel reiterated the Legislature still would have a say in the award amount, and pointed to the growing costs of TOPS, which began as a roughly $50 million program and now costs the state nearly $300 million annually.
“A $300 million (program) and growing–with no end in sight–is a problem for any legislator,” he said.
James Callier, a representative for the Taylor Foundation, said in an interview the state’s need-based program, Go Grant, should be augmented to address potential growth in costs for low-income students attending college.
“We can’t help everybody anymore because you have 50,000 students [on TOPS],” he said. “But we may have 10,000 that have needs, and we can better take care of those students through the Go Grant.”
Callier said the Taylor Foundation has supported an income cap on TOPS in the past to prevent high-earning families from receiving the scholarship, but the legislature wouldn’t pass it.
“If it wasn’t for everybody participating in it, TOPS would be dead. They wouldn’t fund it.”
The foundation also supports a bill by Sen. Dan Morrish, R-Jennings, that would give some money to all TOPS-eligible students if the program has a shortfall. Currently, if the program does not have enough money, students are removed from the scholarship based on ACT scores and financial need.