KEES money on Ky. budget chopping block

This from the Courier-Journal:

FRANKFORT, Ky. - Gov. Steve Beshear’s budget proposes to cut by 15 percent the state funding for the lottery-funded scholarships based on a student’s high school academic record.

And that cut, according to a top state budget official, would result for the first time ever in a cut in the awards granted under the Kentucky Educational Excellence Scholarship, or KEES, program.

“It would mean reduced awards because the only way you can reduce the spending of the KEES program is to reduce the amount of the scholarships awarded out to the individuals who are currently in college,” said John Hicks, deputy state budget director.