1000s In PA Could Get College Scholarships Under New Proposal

PENNSYLVANIA — Gov. Wolf's new budget proposal released this week includes a plan that would help pay college tuition for thousands of students in Pennsylvania.

The Nellie Bly Scholarship Program would apply to students attending Pennsylvania's 14 state-owned universities, who have qualified for a federal loan, and perhaps most notably, who have committed to living in Pennsylvania after graduation for the same number of years they received a scholarship.

If the student leaves Pennsylvania early, they must repay the money, according to the plan.

A total of $204 million has been earmarked for the plan. The funds would come from savings stocked up to support horse racing around the state: the Pennsylvania Race Horse Development Trust.

The proposal has unsurprisingly come under fire from horse racing advocates.

"If this goes through, it's just going to really hurt the horse industry in Pennsylvania," said Pat Chapman, owner of Smarty Jones, the 2004 Kentucky Derby winner. Jones was born in Chester County and Chapman said she spent "a lot of money" to bring Smarty Jones back to the state to race.

The Pennsylvania Equine Coalition noted in a statement that horse racing and breeding provides 23,000 jobs in the state, with a $1.6 billion economic impact.

Wolf cited the rising cost of college and the increasing importance of a college degree in the job market as inspiration for the plan, as well as a drive to keep skilled workers in the state after graduation.

“The student debt crisis is a burden on young people and their families that can last for years and holds them back from affording necessities, buying cars and homes, and saving for retirement," Gov. Wolf said in a statement. “The Nellie Bly Scholarship is an investment in young people so they can get an affordable world-class education at a PASSHE university and provides an incentive to stay in Pennsylvania and build rewarding lives here."

Pennsylvania residents owe $68 billion in student loan debt, for an average of $37,000 per student, according to officials.

Wolf's new 2020-21 budget also calls for $12.9 to help resdesign the state university system, and a $30 million in the Pennsylvania State Grant program, which helps fund some 130,000 students.

The scholarship is named for famed journalist and Pennsylvania native Nellie Bly, who attended Indiana University of Pennsylvania but left due to the rising cost.