<p>When the lottery was designed and passed, the money was actually spent on three things, the college scholarships, a Pre-K program, and technology funding for public schools. The technology funding was a very small piece of the puzzle and has long since disappeared. </p>
<p>The pre-k program has been very successful, but certainly can’t keep up with demand. In the beginning, it was means tested but now it is not. In my opinion, it needs to be. Every time a poor child doesn’t get a spot, the state loses. </p>
<p>One of the biggest disappointments with HOPE is that the colleges and universities, other than Tech and UGA, have seen so little improvement in the caliber of their students or the outcomes at those schools. Most still have pretty dismal graduation rates. What seems to have happened is that many of the students who don’t get into UGA, but are near misses, are leaving the state for other opportunities. Alabama has a lot of the best and brightest of GA as well. I will say that in the last few years, Kennesaw and GA State seem to be really coming along as well as GA College and University, the public LAC. </p>
<p>It wasn’t until this year, that I learned that a student can lose HOPE and then improve their GPA to regain it. I am not a fan of this and think this should be the first change. I understand that freshman year is difficult but from what I can tell, most merit scholarships that have requirements generally don’t give you a second chance. We simply can’t afford too.</p>