Christopher Campbell’s older sister received the Washington Scholars program scholarship, and now, two years later, it is paying her way at Seattle University.

When Campbell, a senior at Olympic High School, was awarded the same merit-based scholarship this year, he was told to not expect any help paying for school.

“It was exciting at first,” Campbell, 19, said upon first reading the acceptance letter. “Since my sister had gotten it, I knew it was a big deal.”

Unlike his sister’s letter, Campbell’s continued with, “Unfortunately we cannot offer you any monetary award with this recognition at this time.” In the proposed 2011-2013 budgets – yet to receive final approval by the Legislature and Gov. Chris Gregoire – the Washington Scholars program has been suspended, leaving students like Campbell with little more than a congratulatory piece of paper.

“At this point in time, it looks like there won’t be funding. We don’t see a likelihood of that changing,” said Gary Larson, spokesman for the Washington Higher Education Coordinating Board, which administers the program. “It reflects the tough decisions the Legislature has had to make as a result of the fiscal crisis the state is playing.”

Principals nominate students in their graduating senior class based on academic achievement, leadership and community service and then three students in each of the 49 legislative districts are selected as recipients of the scholarship. Campbell and two other students in the Central Kitsap School District, Lindsey Holdren and Vincent Dour, received the award and were notified by the Board last month. One student in each legislative district is also named an alternate. Kristin Duprie of Olympic High School was selected as a scholar alternate. No Bremerton students received the award.

Scholarships can only be applied to in-state colleges or universities. For public universities, full tuition is covered, while the equivalent amount to a public school is paid for to those who choose to attend a private college. The program began in 1981.

For the current school year, about $2.7 million is going toward scholarships for the program while in the 2009-2010 year, about $2.8 million was awarded in total. The proposed budget cuts will not affect students currently in college who will continue to pay tuition with their scholarship, such as Campbell’s sister.

“It would definitely be nice to not be in this situation — obviously the money would be really nice,” Campbell said, who has decided to attend the University of Washington next fall and plans on majoring in business.

Campbell, the school’s student body president and a pitcher for the varsity baseball team, has applied to more than 10 other scholarships hoping to receive financial assistance, and he plans to continue applying. At present he plans to take out student loans and will work part-time during college. Hopefully his parents will be able help.

“We’re disheartened by the fact that he will end up with a certificate than the value his sister got,” Robin Campbell, Christopher Campbell’s father said. “We’ll just figure it out. We’ll go into debt — the American way.”

Similar to Christopher Campbell, Holdren, a senior at Central Kitsap High School, plans to attend school in state despite not receiving the money that is supposed to accompany the Washington Scholar award.

“I’ve decided student loans are a part of the experience,” Holdren ,17, said, adding that she plans to work in the summer to save up money as well.

The National Honor Society student and Key Club member said she wanted to go to a smaller school and knew for a while that she was interested in Whitman College, a liberal arts school in Walla Walla. She wants to study science and film.

“If I wasn’t so much in love with Whitman, I would be part of the brain drain,” she said

The brain drain Holdren refers to is the likelihood for top-performing students to leave the state for college and work elsewhere as well. The Washington Scholars program encourages these students to get their education in state with the assumption that the students will graduate and work in the state and contribute to the economy, Larson said.

“If these top-rated students don’t receive the benefit, they may be more likely to pursue education outside the state,” Larson said. “We need those kinds of students in the state to fill the demand for highly educated workers for our economy in the future.”

Unlike Campbell and Holdren, Dour’s decision was affected by not receiving scholarship money. The Central Kitsap High School senior considered attending Seattle University, but instead will study international relations at the University of Notre Dame.

“It doesn’t have the same benefit now,” Dour, 18, said of being awarded the scholarship without any money attached to it. “I would have been more likely to stay.”

Dour, Central Kitsap’s student body president and a four-year swimmer, said  he worked long hours to have college be “free” so that he would have money to pay for graduate school. Dour also has two younger siblings who will eventually be paying college tuition. He has two jobs lined up for the summer to help finance his college education. His father, a Naval officer, died in 2002 and his mother, a lawyer turned homemaker, is planning to go back to work in order to help with tuition costs.

Margaret Dour, Vincent Dour’s mother, said she is proud of her son but is still disappointed that he will not receive any money. However, with budget cuts becoming so commonplace, it did not come as a complete surprise.

Out of the three from each legislative district who were awarded the scholarship last year, only one student received money, which was equivalent to 90 percent of tuition, Larson said, adding that in previous years, 100 percent of costs were covered.

“With all the budget cuts and challenges in Olympia, there probably are some more deserving programs that could use the money,” Margaret Dour said.

The State Need Grant program, also administered by the Board, provides financial aid for the state’s lowest income students and in current proposed budgets, has been given an increase in money, Larson said. The House version of the 2011-2013 budget proposal includes $546 million for the program, and the Senate’s proposal is at $567 million, he said, adding that it would be an increase of $84 million in the House version and $105 million in the Senate version.

During the 2009-2010 school year, nearly 22,000 financially eligible students did not receive money through the State Need Grant program because the demand was greater than the available dollars, Larson added.

Although budget proposals cut money for new Washington Scholars program recipients, with parents and students already accepting the grim outlook, some legislators hope to reverse it before the budget is approved.

“I don’t like the idea of not funding scholarships — and we are trying to correct the problem. We made a promise and are not keeping it,” state Rep. Sherry Appleton, D-Poulsbo, said in an email.

State Rep. Christine Rolfes, D-Bainbridge, said she doesn’t know why recipients were selected this year when the Board knew that there was not sufficient funds.

“We’re still trying to scramble to find a solution but I don’t believe they will be funded in the final budget,” Rolfes said, adding that “everything” is being hit by cuts including hospitals and schools.

Even if money for the scholarship program is eliminated for new recipients, the program will continue by recognizing three students from each legislative district and one alternate as included in state law, Larson said.

“I really see it as one of the highest honors that high school kids in our state can get,” Olympic High School Principal Bob Barnes said. “It’s unfortunate that it looks questionable that there’s any scholarship attached to it this year.”