Colleges and the parents of high school seniors are again left in limbo as they wait to find out if the Promise Scholarship will be fully funded this year and if funding for higher education will be cut further.
Fears of the worst-case scenario were quelled for a while after the Legislature reached a deal which would fully fund the merit-based scholarship and wouldn't cut anything further from higher education other than a 4 percent cut imposed on all state agencies in last year.
But now, after Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin vetoed the deal Wednesday afternoon because it relied on using too much money from the Rainy Day Fund, fears are back and they are stronger than ever.
"What discourages me the most is I think they knew this was coming," said Jim Mahan, director of secondary education for Jackson County Schools. "I don't want to say they've ignored it, but maybe they didn't just sit down and make those tough decisions. Sometimes you have to do that, and sometimes it might hurt you."
Not only does Mahan have to hear from the worried parents of his county struggling to make contingency plans if Promise is cut, he's one of them himself. Mahan has twins getting ready to head off to Marshall and West Virginia universities. He says his family is lucky enough that, even without the scholarship, his children will be able to afford to go to school.
But not all of his students are so fortunate.
"There are kids I can guarantee you that if Promise isn't funded, they're not going to be able to go to college or they won't be able to go to the college they want to," Mahan said.
Kristin Stover is a nurse at Ripley High School and has two daughters who will be enrolled at West Virginia Wesleyan College next year. Her eldest is getting ready to graduate from the college and her youngest has just graduated from high school.
Stover says the thought of having to come up with an extra $9,500 to replace Promise for her daughters if the scholarship isn't funded would severely strain the family's pocketbook.
"The decision for college had already been made before we even knew it was a possibility that Promise might not be funded," Stover said. "So starting from scratch and picking a new college this late in the game, I don't think that is a possibility at this point."
The state's Higher Education Policy Commission has its hand on the trigger, waiting to send out official letters to students awarding them the scholarship, according to Jessica Tice, HEPC spokeswoman. The commission previously advised high school guidance counselors not to promise students they will receive the scholarship since funding wasn't technically available yet.
Tice said HEPC remains confident that lawmakers will reach an agreement on a budget that provides the $47.5 million needed to fully fund the scholarship, and she said she has seen no indication from lawmakers or the Governor's office that it won't be fully funded.
Until a budget deal is signed and approved, several boards of governors at colleges in the state have already met or will meet soon to approve their institution's budget for next year, which begins July 1.
WVU President E. Gordon Gee emailed all of the school's faculty, staff and students Thursday morning, writing that university officials are working with the state to come up with contingency plans if the state government would shut down.
John Bolt, WVU spokesman, said the university would risk losing 6,000 employees if that happens, in addition to damage to ongoing research at the school that can't be stopped and to students taking summer classes.
"The plan is still being developed," Bolt said. "It's our understanding that if this [shutdown] would come about, the state auditor and treasurer will not be operating. So even though we might have money, we might not be able to get to it."
The HEPC is scheduled to meet on June 24.
The commission has to approve tuition increases above 5 percent, but no colleges have asked for tuition increases greater than that so far, according to Tice. Marshall University's Board of Governors approved a draft budget in April which, pending no additional reductions to the funding it receives from the state, would increase tuition by exactly 5 percent.
If the school receives cuts to its state appropriations of up to 4 percent more, tuition will increase by 8 percent. If it receives cuts of more than 4 percent, tuition will increase by 11 percent.
If the budget impasse goes too much longer, Tice said HEPC is considering whether or not to push back its meeting to allow colleges a chance to get their budgets in order and decide if they need to increase tuition by more than 5 percent.
Reach Jake Jarvis at jake.jarvis@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-7939 or follow @NewsroomJake on Twitter.