Governor Scott Thursday continued his campaign to make higher education more affordable.
In a brief stop at the University of North Florida bookstore, Scott said he wants to eliminate the state sales tax on text books and expand the state’s Bright Futures Scholarship program to include summer courses. Right now the lottery-funded merit-based scholarships can only be used for classes taken in the fall, winter and spring.UNF Senior Matt Lawrence says he’s gone to summer school all four years he was in college. Being able to use his Bright Futures scholarship to pay for those classes, he says, could have saved him a lot of money.
“Hundreds of dollars. I mean, depending on how many classes you take during the summer can be a pretty big chunk of money", Lawrence said. "Over $150 per credit hour sometimes. So it’s significant.”
Lawrence will graduate this summer with a Bachelor’s degree in exercise science.
Governor Scott says the proposals he announced at UNF Thursday will be included in the budget he submits to state lawmakers. Taken together, they could cost the state as much as $70 million next year.