By Rick Pluta
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wkar/local-wkar-849940.mp3
Lansing, MI – In her weekly radio address, Governor Granholm vows to protect the Michigan Promise scholarship from the budget axe. The governor is engaged in budget talks with the Legislature's Democratic and Republican leaders.
The Republican-controlled state Senate approved an early version of a higher education budget last month. It strikes the $4,000 dollar scholarship for students who complete two years of post-high school education, but the governor says the scholarships are an important part of the state's plan to create a more highly educated workforce. "Although the state Senate recently voted to eliminate the Michigan Promise scholarships, we will not allow this to happen. Families have already budgeted for these funds. We will not break the promise of these scholarships to students and their families," she says.
Granholm administration officials will not rule out reducing the size of the scholarships. A state Senate Republican spokesman says GOP lawmakers made tough choices the governor refuses to make.