Drew Wilson
Pensacola Republican Rep. Michelle Salzman has filed an appropriations project request that would deliver $750,000 to Take Stock in College.
Take Stock in College launched in 2018 as an offshoot of Take Stock in Children, which supports low-income, at-risk youth on their way toward a high school diploma.
The college program focuses on Take Stock students who earned their diplomas and provides similar support as they work toward a college degree. The program has student ambassadors posted at each of Florida’s 40 state colleges and universities as well as a network of college completion coaches assigned to multiple institutions.
According to Salzman’s appropriations request, the program “aims to help our students attending a Florida college or university achieve postsecondary degree attainment and graduation rate of at least 95% through its Take Stock in College program. This program will ensure the more than 6,000 Take Stock college students attending a Florida college or university will graduate and be career-ready.”
The request includes $355,000 in salaries and benefits for the ambassadors and completion coaches. Another $155,000 will be put toward for tech and software licenses to track student progress and “nudge” them with interactive reminders, and $150,000 will fund mental health and wellness experts.
Finally, the request sets aside $90,000 for the project director’s salary. The director is responsible for overseeing the program and ensuring its effectiveness, “including hiring, training, managing all staff, and communicating with Take Stock in Children, college, and university leaders.”
All funding in the request is nonrecurring.
A similar appropriations request was filed in the 2020 Legislative Session and was included in the budget passed by lawmakers. However, the $850,000 line item was vetoed by Gov. Ron DeSantis.
That iteration did not include funding for mental health experts and would have instead directed $250,000 to a program that issued “minigrants to facilitate the transition from high school to post-secondary education by trusted Take Stock in Children Affiliate Staff.”
