09 May 2001

The Honorable Gene Taylor,

     In 1994, Georgia began a scholarship program known as HOPE -- Helping Outstanding Pupils Educationally.  This scholarship program is funded by a state lottery (the Georgia Lottery for Education) and covers all residents of Georgia at both public and private universities in Georgia.  This program has had far reaching effects not only on university attendance but on university, high school, and national merit test performance.  A study conducted by Georgia's Council for School Performance has shown that Georgia's student's GPAs have increased since the introduction of the HOPE scholarship program as well as their SAT scores (discounting GPA inflation as a cause of the rise in GPAs.)  This increase is likely due to the fact that reimbursement is linked to performance of the student.

     I think that given Mississippi's current economical position with respect to education could be greatly improved with the introduction of a state lottery dedicated to generating funds for a state-wide performance-linked scholarship program.  Such a lottery would increase Mississippi's universities attendance and funds.