Poll: Most Nevadans support Millennium Scholarship program

RENO - Most Nevadans want to keep the state's Millennium Scholarship program afloat in the face of declining funds from a nationwide settlement with tobacco companies, a statewide poll released Saturday shows.

The poll of 600 likely voters shows 53 percent favor injecting new money into the program to keep it alive, while 42 percent disagree. Five percent were unsure.

"Education is such a big issue and concern that even in a conservative and anti-tax state like Nevada, they're willing to give up dollars," said Del Ali, whose Maryland-based Research 2000 conducted the poll.

The telephone survey was conducted between Jan. 25 and Jan. 27. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

The poll also found that 45 percent favor increasing eligibility requirements for the state-funded, merit scholarships, while 38 percent disagree. Seventeen percent were unsure.

The Millennium Scholarships, first offered in 2000, provide Nevada high school graduates who meet academic requirements with $10,000 to enroll in state universities and colleges.

The scholarships are bankrolled by the state's settlement with tobacco companies for health care costs associated with smoking.

But shrinking revenue from the settlement has the scholarship program on the verge of bankruptcy and facing a $45 million shortfall for the upcoming two fiscal years.

In 2003, when it became clear that fewer smokers nationwide meant fewer dollars for Nevada, the state raised the bar for eligibility from a 3.0 GPA to 3.25 after 2006, and required students to maintain a higher average in order to hold on to the scholarship.

But the minor changes didn't buy much time.

Nevada Democrats have said they'll push to distribute the scholarship funds based on need - placing parent's income ceiling at around $60,000.