HARRISBURG, Pa. - Gov. Tom Wolf is proposing a $200 Million scholarship plan for students who attend state schools and community colleges in Pennsylvania.
But it's a plan that has failed before.
Wolf originally proposed the Nellie Bly Scholarship Program in 2020. It was named for a famed 19th century Pennsylvania investigative journalist who dropped out of college when she couldn’t afford it.
It was initially to be funded through casino tax revenue that went toward horse racing in the commonwealth but the proposal twice died without legislative support.
In a presentation this week, Wolf said it’s time for it to move forward using gambling dollars along with money from the American Rescue Plan Act.
“For many students and families struggling from the pandemic the prospect of debt keeps them from pursuing the higher education they dream of and that is just wrong for all of us,” Wolf said.
This program would award scholarships to students focused on in-demand careers such as health care, education and public service.
Any recipient of these funds would need to stay in Pennsylvania after graduation to live and work for the same number of years that they received the scholarship benefit.
“People are going to come to Pennsylvania as they always have, to learn, but they aren’t going to leave Pennsylvania to actually employ those skills and I think that’s a really great opportunity for all of us,” said Wolf.
Wolf said people will want to study and stay in the state as new jobs are coming to Pennsylvania through President Joe Biden’s infrastructure plan.
