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Category: Editorials Editorials
Published: 02 February 2018 02 February 2018

To the Editor:

The decline of Scholarship money from the WNMU Foundation

The WNMU Foundation paid out $114,678 in scholarship money during the 2016-17 school year. Total expenses of the Foundation for the year was $514,497, so only 22% of the Foundation expenses went to scholarships. To get an idea of the benefits students get from that amount of scholarship money, it will buy only 17 full tuition and fees scholarships.

During the 2010-11 school year, the last year for President Counts, the Foundation paid out $222,140 in scholarship money, total expenses was $391,547, so 57% of expenses went to scholarships. Scholarship money for this year was the equivalent of 62 tuition and fee scholarships.

It appears from the numbers that in the past few years the Foundation is giving major funding to other areas, taking the money from scholarships.

Below is a history of the decline of scholarship money from the Foundation.

2010-11
Total Expenses…$391,547
Scholarships…$222,140
Per Cent of Expenses for scholarships…57%

2011-12
Total Expenses…$417,404
Scholarships…$204,278
Per Cent of Expenses for scholarships…49%

2012-13
Total Expenses…$410,537
Scholarships…$112,417
Per Cent of Expenses for scholarships…27%

2013-14
Total Expenses…$378,021
Scholarships…$98,937
Per Cent of Expenses for scholarships…26%

2014-15
Total Expenses…$393,589
Scholarships…$135,913
Per Cent of Expenses for scholarships…35%

2015-16

Total Expenses...... $379,354
Scholarships..........$120,332
Percentage of expenses for scholarships........32%

2016-17
Total Expenses……$514,497
Scholarships…..$114,678
Percentage of Expenses for scholarships…..22%

All of this information is available on the State Auditor’s web site.

Alfred Milligan
Silver City, NM