Budget negotiators intend to cut revenue from the TEXAS Grants program that would have gone to 30,000 students, according to the Texas Politics blog by Peggy Fikak of the Houston Chronicle.
A total of 106,000 students received TEXAS grants in the current biennium. The latest proposal emerging from the House-Senate conference committee on the budget would cover 77,300 students, "including all 44,200 of those who are renewals and the rest students getting first-time awards," according to the post.
The panel intends to vote on the overall budget Thursday, sending the compromise back to the full chambers for approval, reports indicate. Adjournment is set for May 30.
In terms of financial aid, apparently it could have been worse. From the piece:
The financial aid reduction is the best higher education officials could have hoped for since it followed the more generous Senate proposal.
Under the original House plan, there would have been no new Texas Grants awarded, with the aid going only to renewing students already getting the help.
“We’re grateful that the Legislature tried to mitigate the cuts in financial aid as much as possible in this current budget environment, and we’re going to do whatever we can to make sure that that money is used effectively by encouraging programs that promote student success and encouraging programs at the institutional level that also encourage students to do more to actually complete their programs,” said Higher Education Commissioner Raymund Paredes.
The funding backed by negotiators would fund Texas Grants at 90 percent of its current funding level, or $559.7 million. But the cut in new students getting aid is expected to be more than 10 percent because of riding costs, Parades said.
Comments