General Assembly to weigh proposal to turn college savings surplus into scholarships

After a review found a Virginia college savings program has racked up more than a billion dollars in surplus funds, a lawmaker is proposing to put that money toward scholarships for low-income students.

“I think this is a unique opportunity for us to use these dollars forever,” said Sen. Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax, the patron of Senate Bill 1461. “As soon as I saw that there was a surplus of that size, I wanted to make sure we didn’t spend it.”

Surovell’s legislation would create the Virginia College Opportunity Endowment and Fund to distribute hundreds of annual scholarships to Virginia students eligible for Pell Grants who attend any of 12 public universities.

He estimated that at least 2,200 annual scholarships of $25,000 could be awarded from the surplus funds.

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