3/29/2010: From Bill Graves in the Oregonian:
Oregon leaders expressed frustration and anger Friday after learning that thousands of college students will not get need-based state scholarships because grants awarded this year exceed the state budget by millions of dollars more than expected.
The Oregon Student Assistance Commission reported to the Legislature in February that it had committed $9.7 million above its $57 million budget this year to scholarships known as Oregon Opportunity Grants. This week it reported that overcommitment has swollen by $5 million to $9 million more.
Gov. Ted Kulongoski expressed his exasperation in a stern letter to the commission, which he appoints.
“The belated revelation of another over commitment of this magnitude is disturbing to me,” he wrote in the letter, dated Wednesday. “I am also concerned about its impact on the credibility of the program — with the Legislature, our educational institutions and the public.”
Last year Kulongoski vetoed a bill to cut back on his Green Energy, after it went $165 million over budget. Then of course there’s spending $250,000 on signs for the Pape Beltine. Odd priorities.
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