A proposed plan by President Donald J. Trump to take a total of $3.9 billion from the federal Pell Grant surplus is either “reckless or a spectacularly devious political play.”
That is the take of Michael Dannenberg, director of strategic initiatives for policy at Education Reform Now, a District-based education research and policy organization.
While the maximum award amount — $5,920 for the 2017-18 school year — is “pretty safe,” Pell Grant funding overall in the future is “in danger,” Dannenberg said.
“What’s happening is the Trump administration is working its way toward eliminating the Pell Grant program’s rainy day fund,” Dannenberg said. “In the future, when there’s a Pell Grant program funding shortfall, which regularly happens when the economy turns down because there are more poor people translating into more poor students eligible for Pell, there will be a program budget crisis created.
“There won’t be a rainy day fund to tap to maintain the Pell Grant award size, which will threaten kids in their sophomore and higher years with having the financial aid rug pulled out from under them.”
About 7.6 million students used about $28.2 billion in Pell Grants in the 2015-16 school year, according to statistics from the College Board.
