The Harnett County Commissioners will officially approve an agreement expanding educational opportunities for graduates from Harnett County.
The Harnett County Promise is a pilot program designed to give high school grads from the county — or a home-schooled student residing in the county — a chance to receive the money to attend Central Carolina Community College for two years.
Students in the program will be required to exhaust all other educational funding avenues prior to receiving money from the Harnett County Promise.
“The big thing is what we’re having to pay for is if the student doesn’t qualify for any financial aid whatsoever,” Commissioner Chairman Gordon Springle said. “Then we can help them. We’re trying to help the students that can’t go.”
Under the terms of the agreement, which will be approved officially during the board’s next voting session on Dec. 3, students have several requirements to qualify for the assistance.
Students will have two years of eligibility in the program beginning in the fall semester after high school graduation and ending following the spring semester of the second year. Summer terms are not included.
Textbooks, supplies and other supplemental materials are not covered under the program.
Funding for the program will be based on estimates provided by CCCC. Under the agreement, up to $210,000 for fiscal year 2020 with an additional $420,000 for subsequent years through 2023 and up to $210,000 for the final year of the agreement in 2024.
Any funding not used by the Promise Program will be returned to the county and any funding exceeding the estimates will not come from county coffers and the college will provide an annual report on the program to commissioners.
