romanigypsyeyes

This is for anyone involved in Michigan financial aid. The deadline for the promise scholarship basically was today. I've been trying to follow the news but honestly can't figure out whether or not it was cut. Can someone enlighten me please?

shyanne

I am not in financial aid but I heard something yesterday that it may take a few more weeks for them to decide on the Promise Scholarship. Gov. Granholm is still trying to find money to keep it going. I know I am going nuts also waiting to hear. My son was supposed to receive the Michigan Promise and the Michigan Competitive scholarships.

romanigypsyeyes

Same here. MP is part of my FA package. MCS was not (although it should have been, but that's a whole other story). I've been following closely and thought today was the deadline. Arg... I wish the state would get their crap together.

shyanne

It was supposed to be the deadline but they extended it.

bbkitty

I am just livid about this. I certainly hope it pulls through. You can see how your area reps voted on it at Michigan Votes - Michigan Legislation and Voting Record - Bills, Roll Calls, and the Michigan Legislature

I wrote my rep already and received a "blah, blah, blah" letter.

romanigypsyeyes

This is going to sound stupid, but how do you find it? I can't really figure out how to find this bill or the voting record.

bbkitty

Not stupid! If you put in your rep's name and search "promise" as a keyword under the "Search Legislators' Voting Record" you can see.

romanigypsyeyes

Yay, my rep voted against the cuts . That doesn't surprise me, I live in a very Democratic district.

kmccrindle

Hey guys, here's the thing, they've extended temp budget for 30 days and assigned an UNFUNDED budget to theoretically pay for the promise. What that means is that the promise is presently COMPLETELY unfunded, but at the same time, we cannot get it off our FA to borrow its replacement : (
Long and short is to keep up the lobby pressure to see if they can find a funding source to tie to the spending bill that would finance its continuance. Otherwise the dems will be defeated by the Reps in issuing the new funding source (eg. increase in taxes) but Reps will still say they did not cut the promise. You see the shell game here : ) Hi ho.

kmccrindle

Here's the latest request from Michigan PTA about it all, sent out yesterday at 5 p.m.:



Dear PTA Advocates,

Last night the house defeated HB 4447, a bill that would have slashed funding for public schools across Michigan. The vote was a resounding 2-106, only Reps Amash (R-Cascade) and McMillin (R-Rochester Hills) voted for it.

Your voices made a difference!

We still need your help. Contrary to reports you may be hearing, NO NEW DOLLARS have been added to the K-12 budget. The House did pass a supplemental for some budget areas - NOT K-12 - this morning but the measure did not include any revenue sources!

It is urgent that you CALL your Representative and your Senator now!

Thank them for their vote, and let them know that you want them to hold the line on cuts that would decimate public education and the recovery of this state!

Tell them that they must use all of the stimulus funds in the 2009-10 year and to use remaining SAF funds for FY 2009-10.

Also, we're asking that you forward this message on to your network of interested parents and community members to help amplify the message that education must be a priority

Michigan PTSA is urging you to take action to put pressure on your lawmakers.

Even more importantly, it is critical that you be respectful in your communications with lawmakers! Some other advocacy groups have lost sight of this, but we must rise above accusations and threats. We represent parents after all, so we need to walk the walk. Even if your Rep voted for these cuts, they need to hear from us with courtesy.

If you have difficulty contacting your legislator directly, please use these links:

To find your Representative:
http://house.michigan.gov/find_a_rep.asp

To find your Senator:
http://senate.michigan.gov/FindYourS...ichiganfys.asp

Again, I thank you for your advocacy. Our voices are being heard and we are almost there!

Let me know about your results.

Kevin McLogan
Vice President for Children's Advocacy
kmclogan@wowway.com

Michigan Parent Teacher Student Association
3300 Washtenaw Avenue, Suite 220, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104-4294
Phone: 734-975-9500 - Fax: 734-677-2407
Web site: www.michiganptsa.org

romanigypsyeyes

I'm shocked. *Rolls eyes*

kelsmom

I AM in financial aid in Michigan, and even WE have no clue what will happen.

romanigypsyeyes

I REALLY hope Granholm keeps her word and doesn't sign anything that cuts it. Someone up there needs to finally take a stand and say that enough is enough when it comes to screwing over the future of America (students).

romanigypsyeyes

Poor GVSU students

GVSU students to pay more with uncertainty of Michigan Promise | wzzm13.com | Grand Rapids, MI

One of my friends goes there and she was on the phone with me last night crying about this. She has maxed out her Stafford loans and her parents refuse to take loans on so now she is scrambling to find a private loan AND a cosigner because her parents refuse to even cosign. But it's slow going and she is just a nervous wreck. I have another friend up at Michigan Tech in the same situation. They can't be alone. They HAD exactly enough to cover everything, before the state broke their promise. This would never be allowed in the corporate world. "We're giving you a bonus of $1k!" A year later... "Oh you spent that? Yeah, you see... we're going to need it back. Oh, you can't pay it? Well take a loan or you're fired."

This whole thing is ridiculous.

kmccrindle

We had a similar situation in that we had to cash-flow it with only 10 days notice (not even a full pay period to scramble for the extra) so my son ended up paying out of his savings since we'd just met what was due Aug. 31.

However, U of M has now gone on record as saying it will replace the funds for about 1700 of the neediest students (of about 4000 students who were due to receive). Apparently, we are not among those -- then again, we simply paid the difference without complaint since it's not U of M's fault, but we are tracking considerably over our EFC right now ; )
Nonetheless, I thought it was decent of the U. to do so. It's too bad some other schools haven't had the budget available. Let's just hope it gets funded one way or another before month end. S. would love his buffer money before his meal plan runs low!