54,000 North Carolina college students may be another casualty in the next three years as the state debates what to do over a relatively unknown fund that’s expected to provide up to $210 million in scholarships this upcoming academic year.  The North Carolina Escheat Fund was created to hold onto forgotten bank accounts, insurance policies and property that have otherwise been unclaimed for several years. The fund is controlled by State Treasurer Janet Cowell, who warned today that the fund could run dry in 2012 if action isn’t taken to restrict the amount of money given out to students or appropriate money from other sources to cover the costs of the scholarships. Historically, all “escheated” property in North Carolina has been diverted to the UNC System following statutory law and the North Carolina Constitution. The fund’s money is invested and the interest earned was then directed to the State Education Assistance Authority to be disbursed.  Unfortunately, though, state legislators have taken it upon themselves to use the Escheat Fund’s principal to pay for scholarships rather than using state revenue, which leads us to today’s announcement that the fund is at risk of running dry and cutting off scholarships to the 54,000 students during a fiscal year when North Carolina faces a $3 billion budget gap.  Not funding these scholarships isn’t an option, period. If the scholarships aren’t funded, then North Carolina is basically putting 54,000 more people out of work in three years in a North Carolina economy that is currently boasting an 8.9 percent unemployment rate. But if the money isn’t there, and there isn’t the $210 million in the budget to cover the cost for the scholarships, then it’s time that North Carolina legislators use more of the profits from the North Carolina Lottery to fund scholarships. Currently, the majority of lottery proceeds go to school construction, 90 percent of which goes to K through 12 schools. North Carolina Representative Bob Etheridge just announced today that North Carolina will be able to save over $500 million in school construction costs through a tax credit in President Obama’s stimulus package to bond holders that fund school construction – which should be more than enough to cover the lost revenue from the re-appropriated lottery funds.  It’s messy – but it’s important to maintain the scholarships that will be needed now more than ever during slow economic times.  Obama’s stimulus package has promised to save millions of American jobs, and by using the tax credits to help fund more school construction rather than the lottery proceeds, our leadership would be ensuring that 54,000 North Carolinians don’t lose their jobs as students.