First announced in February, the proposal now appears to be on track for approval having won support from several of Haslem’s Republican colleagues in the state general assembly.
Called “Tennessee Promise,” Haslam’s plan would allow high-school graduates to attend an in state technical or community college without having to pay any tuition or associated fees. The funds would come from newly created endowment using money from the lottery’s reserves.
It’s estimated that the plan would cost about $34 million each year.
The state currently has about 80,000 community college students, evenly divided between full-time and part-time students, according to the American Association of Community Colleges.
“As we encourage more Tennesseans to continue their education, we know we have to remove as many barriers as possible,” Haslam said during his State of the State address in February. “Cost is often the biggest hurdle to furthering education.”
Some Democrats in the state oppose the proposal, saying it would take away funds from other currently existing scholarship models.
In 2012, Tennessee’s lottery sales reached a record high of $1.2 billion. In the state lottery’s short history (it was first launched in 2004), it has already raised more than $2.5 billion for educational programs .
Why would Democrats be opposed to this ...... Answer: More people would get to work and there would be less on welfare ..... thus, less democratic supporters .... opposes the "Obama Plan"
