Education Budget Looks to Eliminate
Several College-Access Programs
By Charles Dervarics
President Bush is proposing a tight 2007 federal education budget that would freeze the maximum Pell Grant and Black college aid amounts while eliminating several college-access programs for low-income students.
Programs slated for elimination: Upward Bound, currently funded at $311 million; the $145-million Talent Search program; and GEAR UP, an early college awareness program that has received $303 million this year.
Support for historically Black colleges and graduate institutions would receive $296 million, the same as 2006 funding. Of that amount, $58 million would go to HBCU graduate institutions.
The budget released earlier this month also would freeze funding for Hispanic-serving colleges and universities at $95 million and leave funding for tribal colleges unchanged at $24 million next year.
The maximum Pell Grant would remain at $4,050, but the administration is proposing changes in the program’s operation. Year-round Pell Grants would be available at many two- and four-year colleges so students could accelerate their education.
However, the proposal also would limit Pell aid to 16 semesters to promote faster completion of a college degree.
