No future promised for South Texas College scholarship program

McALLEN — South Texas College officials are scrambling to raise money for a scholarship program that covers the costs of an associate’s degree for nearly 45 students each year.

STC President Shirley Reed guaranteed continued assistance for returning and accepted students in the college’s Valley Scholars Program, but she warily avoided setting the program’s future in stone.

“We may be in the hole financially for a while,” Reed said. “The students now don’t have to worry at all, but our real fear is losing the ability to take in additional students in future years.”

Valley Scholars welcomes students in the top 10 percent of their graduating class from Rio Grande Valley high schools and provides scholarships to fill any holes financial aid won’t cover for tuition and fees.

But the program’s funds have dipped far into the red as two educational grants expired, private donations dwindled and interest from an endowment deflated alongside the national economy.

“It was a perfect storm,” said Juan Mejia, vice president for academic affairs. “But we know we can pull this program back into the black.”

So far, officials plan to eliminate only an extra $500 scholarship for books or travel expenses for the approximately 160 students.

But that might be a drop in a bucket as the program begins this fiscal year with a $104,000 deficit.

After releasing contractual scholarships to participants, the deficit will rise to $151,000, which Reed said will have to come from the college’s unrestricted budget account.

“The buffer money is safe for now,” Reed said. “But as much as we want to give the students opportunities, if we don’t have the money soon, we simply can’t continue it.”

Throughout the year, though, program coordinators and the students themselves will participate in a variety of fundraising events to repay the money being used to shore up the program.

“There’s nothing in life that’s really free,” Reed said. “It’s giving back to students like them in the future.”

Reed and Mejia said they were optimistic the program’s largest fundraiser — the annual “A Night with the Stars” charity event set for Oct. 7 — would cushion projected fundraising revenues of $72,500.

But plans to restore the program’s finances to good health by 2013 rely heavily on an economic turnaround fueling increases in donations and endowment interest payments.

Recent La Joya Senior High graduate Aileen Benitez enjoys a secure spot in the program this fall, but the Peñitas resident said she hopes Valley Scholars helps future students as well.

“I knew it was going to give me a chance to fulfill my goals without worrying about paying,” the 18-year-old said. “My father’s a construction worker, and there hasn’t been a lot of work these past years.”

“I’d hate to see any student giving up on their own path because of the same thing,” she said.

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Neal Morton covers education and general assignments for The Monitor. He can be reached at (956) 314-0896.