Lieutenant Governor Proposes Minimum 2.5 Grade Point Average As Scholarship Standard

Thursday, Jan 15, 2009
Lieutenant Governor Proposes Minimum 2.5 Grade Point Average As Scholarship Standard
LITTLE ROCK -- (January 15, 2009) Lieutenant Governor Bill Halter told an association of Arkansas mayors and other city officials today that any Arkansas student who graduates from an Arkansas high school with at least a 2.5 grade point average and is admitted by an Arkansas college or university should get a state scholarship funded by a state-run lottery."That's how simple this ought to be," Halter told the Associated Press after addressing the 2009 Arkansas Municipal Winter Conference.The Lieutenant Governor participated in a panel discussion about three issues facing the Arkansas General Assembly: the Scholarship Lottery, which Arkansas voters approved in November as a constitutional amendment; a constitutional amendment calling for annual sessions of the Arkansas General Assembly; and a proposal to establish a statewide trauma system.Halter released a statement of principles last month advocating an achievement-based HOPE Scholarship program that is simple, universal and fair. The Lieutenant Governor believes criteria for these lottery-funded scholarships should be readily understood by students, parents, grandparents, teachers and counselors in 30 seconds or less.In his speech and a question-and-answer session that followed, the Lieutenant Governor also said Scholarship Lottery proceeds should pay first-year tuition for any Arkansas adults going back to school part-time and that the awards should be renewed if they earn at least a 2.5 GPA."Every Arkansan without a bachelor's degree should be able to access this scholarship fund," Halter said.