Miscalculation Leaves S.C. $25M Short for State Scholarships

The South Carolina Commission on Higher Education underestimated by roughly $25 million how much money it needs to provide state scholarships, The South Carolina Daily Gazette reports.

L. Jeffrey Perez, the commission’s president and executive director, told the outlet his agency learned about the shortfall for the current fiscal year last week. The Daily Gazette reported that the issue won’t directly impact students because colleges “already credited the scholarships against tuition owed,” but it will delay the commission’s payments to institutions and will complicate legislative budget negotiations.

The commission initially projected it would need $302 million and it had $2.7 million in carryover funds—but now it will likely need $330 million. Perez said 4,000 more people earned scholarships this year than last, The Daily Gazette reported.

“Right now, we’re in analysis mode to try to identify what happened,” Perez told the outlet. “We need time to figure that out.”

Commission spokespeople didn’t return Inside Higher Ed’s requests for comment Monday. The agency’s offices were closed for Confederate Memorial Day, a South Carolina holiday. The chairs of the state Senate Finance Committee and House Ways and Means Committee also didn’t return requests for comment.