TOPS proposed changes face criticism at task force meeting

BATON ROUGE — Sen. Dan Morrish received criticism at Wednesday’s TOPS Task Force meeting over his proposals to reduce awards to lower-performing students and increasing stipends for higher-performing ones.

Morrish, a Republican from Jennings who chairs the task force, said his proposals would save $20 million a year and give lower-performing students incentives to improve their grades and test scores.

But several task force members questioned whether Morrish’s proposals would be fair to minority students and make it financially difficult for some of them to attend four-year universities.

Morrish had presented his proposals to Gov. John Bel Edwards last week. The task force plans to vote on Feb. 7 on what recommendations to make to the Legislature.

Since the TOPS program, formally known as the Taylor Opportunity Program for Students, was created in the late 1990s, the cost has ballooned to $350 million a year. Edwards, a Democrat, said last week that the state might have to slash the cost by 80 percent if he and Republicans leaders cannot agree on revenue-raising measures to avert a projected $800 million gap in the state budget.

Representative Gary Carter Jr., D-New Orleans, said students who “overcome difficult life challenges” also qualify as the “best and the brightest,” and he urged that the task force take caution when referring to just one particular group of students as such.

Senator Wesley Bishop, D-New Orleans, questioned Dr. Sujuan Boutte, executive director of Louisiana Office of Student Financial Assistance, about the number of students currently receiving various TOPS Awards.

Boutte said that as of 2016-17, about 28,000 students received TOPS Opportunity, the entry-level award, while the next most utilized award level is TOPS Performance, with about 10,000 students.

Bishop reminded the Task Force that the intent behind TOPS was to provide financial assistance to those who could not afford to attend four-year universities.

Because annual state tuition is about $5,500 at regional state universities, TOPS Opportunity students should not be expected to find some other form of assistance to make up for the $1,500 difference, Bishop said.

“Is this proposal tossing out the kids who TOPS was initially created for?” Bishop asked.

TOPS Opportunity, the program’s entry-level tier, now provides students with at least a 20 combined ACT score and a 2.5 high-school grade point average with full university tuition. TOPS Performance, which requires a 23 ACT score and a 3.0 G.P.A., gives students full tuition and a $400 stipend.

Under Morrish’s proposals, the TOPS Opportunity Award would be reduced to only a $4,000 stipend. For TOPS Performance, he would keep the full tuition but remove the $400 stipend. For TOPS Honors students, who must score at least a 27 on the ACT and have a 3.5 G.P.A., Morrish would increase the stipend that goes along with full tuition to $1,500 from $800.

He also would create a new category, TOPS Honors Plus, for students who attained a 30 or higher on their ACT exams and maintained a 4.0 G.P.A. These students would receive full tuition and a $2,500 stipend.

In defending his proposal, Morrish said he would like to see the $20 million in annual savings that could eventually be achieved designated for funding the state’s need-based GO Grant financial aid program and adult education courses at community colleges.

He also contended that his plan would set a higher bar for incoming freshmen and encourage them to attain higher performance levels.

Morrish also reminded the task force that TOPS is not the same program it was in 1997, when tuition was much lower and each student could receive full tuition awards for eight semesters. He said the program has grown too expensive for that.

Moorish said he proposed the TOPS Honors Plus Award to try to keep Louisiana’s “best and brightest” to stay in the state for college. Representative Nancy Landry, R-Lafayette, added that she would like to explore the addition of graduated stipend levels within the TOPS Honors and Honors Plus levels.

Dr. James Caillier, executive director of the Patrick Taylor Foundation, which was created by the man who started TOPS, expressed concern that Morrish’s proposal would send the state in the wrong direction. Caillier emphasized that more funding is needed at the entry-level of the program to ensure more students earn bachelor’s degrees.

Caillier said placing more money in higher brackets would be futile because Louisiana loses 10 percent of its “best and brightest” to Ivy League schools, regardless of any state efforts. He also said Louisiana universities should “get some skin in the game” and offer fee waivers to encourage the state’s high-achieving students to attend their institutions.

Morrish closed the Task Force meeting disagreeing with Caillier. He said needs to keep creating incentives for students to achieve at higher levels.