Senate Panel Approves Davis’ Revised Plan for Merit Scholarships

Merit scholarships, the cornerstone of the governor’s 2000 education reform package, received their first legislative approval Wednesday after a compromise that improves access for poor and minority students.

Legislators on the Senate Education Committee, who have wasted no time this session asserting their own power, also attached the bill to one increasing scholarships based on needs. The governor cannot sign one without the other.

The committee approved a $231-million expenditure, nearly half of which would go into college funds for 100,000 high school students who score well on the state’s standardized exam.

Originally, Gov. Gray Davis had proposed $1,000 annual awards--and up to $3,000 total--for high school students who rank in the top 5% at their schools or 10% statewide. But after outcry about how few poor and minority students would qualify, the percentages were flipped: 10% at the schools and 5% statewide.

White and Asian students still would get the majority of the scholarships. But the compromise increases likely African American recipients statewide from fewer than 1,500 to more than 2,100 and Latinos from about 6,600 to 10,400, according to the state legislative analyst’s office.

Several senators said that still does not go far enough and abstained from voting. Only Sen. John Vasconcellos (D-Santa Clara) voted against SB 1503, suggesting that the state instead follow the National Merit Scholars model, which gives the honor to all, but the money only to the needy.

“Call them a Governor’s Scholar, call them a Gov. Gray Davis Scholar . . . but don’t pour money into the pockets of people who are already rich,” he said.

Sen. Richard Polanco (D-Los Angeles), who introduced the merit bill, said he is equally passionate about complementing the merit-only awards with enhanced funding for the state’s CalGrant program.

CalGrant now offers about $380 million a year in grants to students who have both good grades and financial problems. But because the program is underfunded, at least 70,000 qualified students are denied CalGrant scholarships every year.

Polanco has a second bill that would significantly increase that support, but Senate chief John Burton (D-San Francisco) introduced a third bill to emphasize CalGrant awards for community college students. It was that third bill (SB 1788) that the committee connected to the governor’s plan.

The joined bills move next to the Senate Appropriations Committee. The education committee postponed until next week consideration of other key components of the governor’s package--ranging from home loans for teachers to more advanced college placement classes.

“This is very good news, very good news,” Davis spokesman Michael Bustamante said of the merit plan’s passage. The governor, he added, was particularly pleased that Burton understands the importance of offering merit scholarships.

Burton, who has actively opposed the plan both publicly and behind the scenes, denied he had changed his mind.

“If you gotta help people who don’t need help in order to help people who do . . . it’s an easy trade-off,” Burton said.

Instead of trying to amend the governor’s bills, an effort that has seen few successes, legislators are trying a new tactic: introducing bills that fill what they see as gaps in Davis’ plan.

In addition to the CalGrant legislation, the committee approved a bill by Sen. Dede Alpert (D-Coronado) that would provide additional college loan reimbursement to teachers who choose the lowest-performing schools and those who teach the hardest-to-staff subjects.

At the top level, SB 1330 would reward a teacher trained in math or science who agrees to teach in a school ranking in the bottom fifth on statewide tests, with $20,000 in loan repayment over four years.

The governor’s proposal, introduced by Sen. Richard Alarcon (D-Sylmar), targets all schools scoring below the 50th percentile. Some legislators felt that spread the money too widely to have an impact at the worst schools.

Alpert said she hoped that the governor ultimately would make her idea his own by agreeing to amend it into Alarcon’s bill.

Buoyed by the state’s robust economy, legislators are finding it easier than ever to add more money when their desires conflict with Davis’. But whether the fiscally conservative governor will agree with that approach remains to be seen.

“As much as you’d like to be able to cure every ill and the neglect of the past, it’s just not possible,” Bustamante said. “But within our means the governor intends to do the best that he can.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Scholarship Proposal

Gov. Gray Davis originally proposed awarding college scholarships of up to $3,000 to high school students scoring in the top 5% in their school or the top 10% in the state on the standardized STAR test. A compromise with legislators--making the top 10% in each school and the top 5% in the state eligible--would include more poor and minority students.

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Original proposal Current proposal

% of test-takers % of test-takers

Ethnicity % test-takers who qualified who qualified

Asian* 17% 25% 24%

Black 6% 2% 3%

Latino 29% 9% 15%

White 44% 60% 55%

Other 3% 3% 3%

*--*

*

*--*

Original proposal Current proposal

% of test-takers % of test-takers

By Economic Status % test-takers who qualified who qualified

Low income** 27% 9% 15%

Higher income 73% 91% 85%

*--*

*

Note: Figures may not total 100% because of rounding.

*Includes Pacific Islander and Filipino

**Based on participation in free or reduced-cost meal program.

Sources: California Department of Education and legislative analyst’s office, April 2000