Gov. Wolf Pushes Scholarship Plan At Pennsbury High

FAIRLESS HILLS, PA — At a visit to Pennsbury High School on Wednesday, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf promoted a plan he said would help some of its students afford college without going into debt.

During meetings with students and their parents at the Fairless Hills campus, Wolf talked up his proposed Nellie Bly Scholarship, a $204 million plan that would help lower and middle-class student attend one of Pennsylvania's 14 state universities.

Wolf unveiled the plan during his recent budget address. It is designed to cover the tuition gap left after students in need have spent funds from the Pell Grant and other state grants.

"The student debt crisis is a burden on young people and their families that can last for years," Wolf said Wednesday. "It holds young people back from finishing their degree, buying a car or a home and saving for retirement. The Nellie Bly Scholarship is an investment in young people so they can graduate, stay in Pennsylvania and build rewarding careers and lives here."

To be eligible, students would be required to enroll full-time in an undergraduate program at a state university and qualify for a federal subsidized student loan.

They'd be required to commit to live in Pennsylvania after graduation for the same number of years they received the scholarship. If a student left the state early, they'd be required to repay the money.

"The Nellie Bly Scholarship program is good for our communities, it's good for our PASSHE schools, and it's good for young Pennsylvanians," Wolf said. "It’s also the perfect next step to strengthen our workforce after expanding apprenticeships and hands-on job training for those who don’t want to go to college."

The scholarship would be funded by repurposing money from the state's Horse Racing Development Fund. Pennsylvania has spent $3 billion since the fund was created subsidizing the horse-racing industry, which Wolf says has stabilized and grown.

It is named in honor of Nellie Bly, an Armstrong County native born in 1864. Bly attended the Indiana Normal School, now Indiana University of Pennsylvania, but left due to the cost.

Bly became a pioneering journalist who helped to force reforms to the mental health care system in the early 20th century.

The student loan debt for Pennsylvania residents is $68 billion, among the highest in the nation, averaging over $37,000 per student, according to Wolf's office.

The 14 state-owned universities that would be covered under the program are Bloomsburg, California, Cheyney, Clarion, East Stroudsburg, Edinboro, Indiana, Kutztown, Lock Haven, Mansfield, Millersville, Shippensburg, Slippery Rock and West Chester universities of Pennsylvania.