Percentage of Millennium Scholars dips

Jennifer Knight

Thursday, Aug. 29, 2002 | 11:39 a.m.

The percentage of Clark County high school graduates qualifying for the Millennium Scholarship has steadily declined over three years, according to a report released by the state Wednesday.

When the $10,000 merit scholarship was first introduced in 2000, 51 percent of Clark County students were eligible. That number declined in 2001 to 49 percent and dipped again this year to 46 percent.

"We don't know why there are fewer kids qualifying," said Agustin Orci, deputy superintendent of instruction for Clark County schools. "It is certainly a cause for concern. This is a great opportunity for kids and we want them to take advantage of it."

Any student graduating from a Nevada high school with a B average automatically qualifies for the scholarship. The only requirement is that the student attend college in the state.

The number of eligible students in both Clark County and the state increased, but the percentage of total graduates has declined.

In 2000, there were 4,255 Clark County students who were eligible for the scholarship out of 8,202 graduates, making 52 percent eligible.

In 2001, there were 4,734 out of 9,600 graduates, or 49 percent. In 2002, there 4,835 out of 10,400 graduates, or 46 percent.

State numbers show an increase in both percentage and total numbers for the first two years. The total of state graduates for 2002 was not available.

In 2000, there were 7,147 students in the state who were eligible out of 14,446 who graduated, making 49 percent of the graduating class eligible. In 2001, 51 percent of the graduates were eligible, as 7,797 of 15,128 graduates qualified. In 2002, 7,947 students qualified.

The state spends about $13 million a year on the scholarships, which are funded through the state's share of the tobacco settlement. State law protects that money from being used for state needs other than the scholarships and health programs earmarked for the settlement.

A C average in college is required to maintain eligibility for the scholarship. About 87 percent of Millennium Scholarship students kept their scholarship eligibility in college this year, compared to 78 percent in 2001.

But educators are perplexed by the slide in high school scholarship eligibility. Officials have looked at a number of factors at each of the county's high schools -- including the dropout, graduation and transiency rates. Those figures, officials say, seem to correlate to scholarship eligibility rates.

"There does seem to be a correlation between how many kids are eligible and the graduation rate at the school," Orci said.

Susan Moore, director of the Millennium Scholarship program, said that although eligibility percentages are on the decline, she would not characterize it as a pattern.

"I wouldn't even define it as a trend," Moore said. "It's something (on which) we need to wait and watch. We need to look at at least a five-year period."

Still, officials in the state treasurer's office, which runs the program, said they have seen a need to reach out to low income areas. Moore said they have just launched an outreach program this year, called Gear Up, which encourages middle school students who might not otherwise consider college to reach higher.

"I definitely think the numbers can go up," Moore said. "As a group, we are all aware that there is always more that we can do and we are dedicated to doing that."