State Treasurer Fiona Ma Presents $305,000 in “Scholar Dollar” Grants Across California

SACRAMENTO – California State Treasurer Fiona Ma visited 20 schools and presented $305,000 last month to “Scholar Dollar” winners in a vast trek through California.

For a list of winners, visit: myscholardollars.com

“Scholar Dollars” supports extracurricular and enrichment programs that in some cases were cut or dropped altogether because of budget cuts.  “It was so much fun visiting the schools and seeing their excitement to get money for libraries, computer labs, after school enrichment activities, art, music, and theater for their education,” said Treasurer Ma.

Schools win “Scholar Dollars” grant awards by mobilizing their communities to cast votes. This year 377 schools competed and more than 285,000 votes were cast.

Studies show that students with a savings account in their name are seven times more likely to attend college than others. Scholar Dollars helps raise awareness about saving for college early, which is important given that the average student loan debt is $36,521. According to the U.S. Department of Education’s College Affordability and Transparency Center, there is $1.48 trillion total student loan debt in the United States www.collegecost.ed.gov.