<p>orlandosentinel.com/features/education/os-florida-senate-college-cuts-03181120110317,0,4924109.story
OrlandoSentinel.com
Senate moves to suspend prepaid tuition plan</p>
<p>By Denise-Marie Balona, Orlando Sentinel</p>
<p>4:48 PM EDT, March 17, 2011
Advertisement</p>
<p>A key committee of the Florida Senate is proposing to suspend the state's popular prepaid tuition program, which has allowed hundreds of thousands of families to afford to send their children to college.</p>
<p>The idea to suspend the program, which allows families to lock in today's rates for tomorrow's tuition, was discussed only briefly during a Senate committee meeting Thursday when senators unveiled a preliminary budget for Florida's colleges and universities.</p>
<p>The prepaid program would be closed to new enrollments, said state Sen. Evelyn Lynn, chairwoman of the subcommittee on higher education appropriations. The Stanley Tate Project STARS scholarship for low-income students at risk of dropping out of school would not be affected, however.</p>
<p>Lynn said the state is responsible for fulfilling the tuition contracts even if the investments fail.</p>
<p>It wasn't immediately clear whether legislators in the House would be open to considering such a change. The chairwoman and vice chairman of the House higher education appropriations subcommittee could not be reached for comment.er</p>
<p>Along with suspending the Florida Prepaid College program, the Senate committee is also proposing cuts to the popular Bright Futures scholarship program. The scholarship, offered to students with high test scores and top grades, would be reduced by $1,000 per student.</p>
<p>Under the Senate committee's budget proposal, public universities would receive $3.5 billion under the budget proposal discussed Thursday, a cut of less than 3 percent. Funding for state colleges and community colleges would stay about the same at $2 billion.</p>
<p>The committee's plan calls for slashing the amount of state money paid to private schools, including the state's historically black colleges and several private research institutions and medical schools.</p>
<p>Overall funding for higher education would be reduced about 4 percent.</p>
<p>This past “open enrollment” season saw few applications anyway relative to prior years. The cost now for prepaid is VERY HIGH given the rise in tuition over the past few years. Given the economy, it is hard to afford it now. </p>
<p>I have to admit, those of us who purchased plans 20 years ago, and added local fee plans the year they started offering them GOT THE DEAL OF A LIFETIME.</p>
<p>Not to mention the Bright Futures Scholarship. With BF (as currently configured, although seemingly guaranteed to be reduced for Fall 2011) and the academic scholarship offered by FSU, my son will be able to attend without hardly touching his pre-paid tuition plan. We feel extremely fortunate.</p>
<p>Things are dimming for Florida higher education and its Bright Futures. Tuition is going up, scholarship money is going down, students are really getting squeezed. The state would raid what’s left of the Florida Prepaid Program funds for general state needs just like they did with the Bright Futures lottery money if they could get away with it. </p>
<p>The Seminole Indian Tribe’s Florida casinos are currently raking in more money than ever with increasing revenues; the state’s lottery revenues and profits are way down. Maybe the state should let the Seminoles run the state lottery to help the Bright Futures scholarship program and the Seminoles could guard the lottery money so the legislature doesn’t steal it for general state spending instead of for education.</p>
Prepaid tuition plan financially healthy, report shows
Senator who suggested suspending the program ‘doesn’t know what she’s talking about,’ says one of its founders.</p>
<p>By Denise-Marie Balona, Orlando Sentinel</p>
<p>9:19 PM EDT, March 21, 2011
Advertisement</p>
<p>State Sen. Evelyn Lynn thinks the Legislature should consider suspending the popular prepaid college tuition program that has served hundreds of thousands of Floridians mostly because, Lynn said, she’s worried taxpayers would be vulnerable if the program ran into financial trouble.</p>
<p>But Stanley G. Tate, one of the foremost experts on the prepaid plan, says Lynn “obviously doesn’t know what she’s talking about.”</p>
<p>Last week, Lynn said she worried about the program, taking note of a few down days in the stock market.</p>
<p>But Tate points out that none of the billions invested by families in the program goes toward stocks.</p>
<p>Lynn, R-Ormond Beach, also expressed concern that future tuition increases would weaken the Florida Prepaid College program.</p>
<p>Tate said the program’s administrators already have taken into account that university tuition could rise as much as 15 percent a year over the next three years.</p>
<p>He also explained that a recent audit showed the program to be financially healthy a finding that was noted again Monday during a presentation to the Florida Senate’s subcommittee on higher education appropriations, of which Lynn is the chairwoman.</p>
<p>“It was built to be as trouble-free as possible without the state being at risk for anything and to help low- and moderate-income families,” said Tate, a South Florida businessman who helped create the program and served as its board chairman for 18 years.</p>
<p>“Had Lynn contacted someone from the prepaid college program, they would have given her this information.”</p>
<p>Nearly one in five undergraduates at Florida’s public universities is enrolled in the Florida prepaid college program.</p>
<p>Prepaid tuition is so popular because it saves families a lot of money. Participants can lock in the price of tuition, fees and other costs at the time they sign their contracts.</p>
<p>Last week, Lynn proposed suspending the program so that new contracts will not be sold. Current participants would not be affected and neither would the Stanley Tate Project STARS scholarship for at-risk students.</p>
<p>On Monday, program officials gave a presentation that highlighted how the program works and why it’s in good financial shape.</p>
<p>Today, the program is about $500 million in the black. Most of participants’ money is invested in low-risk government-backed securities, a program official said.</p>
<p>A handful of senators, including Lynn, said they wanted additional financial details.</p>
<p>In an interview on Monday, Lynn claimed she never had any concerns about the stock market.</p>
<p>However, in a podcast of last week’s subcommittee meeting, she says: "The stock market now it just has been dropping the last few days by hundreds and hundreds of dollars.</p>
<p>“Should the investments not prove to be able to take care of the promised contracts [in the prepaid program], the state of Florida is totally responsible. ”</p>
<p>On Monday, Lynn added another concern that some participants might be confused about what exactly they are paying for, since today’s contracts cover more costs than contracts sold years ago.</p>
<p>“We’re all agreeing it’s a great program,” Lynn said. “We also want to make sure our constituents make sure they know exactly what they’re buying and also that we continue to cover the costs adequately.”</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Lynn’s counterpart in the House, state Rep. Marlene O’Toole, chairwoman of the House’s higher education appropriations subcommittee, said she does not support suspending the program.</p>
<p>Sen. Thad Altman said he’s hoping the program remains unchanged.</p>
<p>“It’s too important to too many parents and children,” said Altman, R-Viera.</p>
<p>State Sen. Oscar Braynon II, a Miami-area Democrat, said he’s still researching the issue, but is a fan of the program.</p>
<p>He enrolled his 2 1/2-year old son about a year ago and had hoped to enroll future children, too.</p>
<p>South Florida residents have peppered him with questions via Facebook and Twitter about the proposed suspension, he said.</p>
<p>“I know for sure from the calls to my office and my social media outlets, people are not thrilled about this,” Braynon said. “I think a lot of people are calling, realizing this is a great deal and it may not last forever.”</p>