A nonprofit organization that promised a group of Tucson kids a full ride to college has gone back on its word.
In 2005, Arizona Quest for Kids guaranteed 23 local fifth-graders scholarships that would pay four years of tuition equivalent to the cost charged by Arizona's three public universities.
The students were told they needed to have a 3.0 cumulative grade-point average upon graduating from high school, participate in enrichment programs and meet with a mentor weekly for the next seven years.
On Wednesday, the nonprofit group told the five remaining students that it no longer could provide the funds, and it would instead offer assistance to find scholarships from other sources.
The announcement brought Ileanna Arispuro to tears.
Arispuro, 16, a junior at Pueblo Magnet High School, has been working to keep up her end of the bargain.
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"It makes me really mad and sad and frustrated," Arispuro said. "They promised us the scholarship, and now they say they'll help us fill our applications?"
Arispuro said she dreams of attending the University of Arizona, where she would study criminal justice, but now she isn't sure that it is a possibility.
"My family has gone through so much, and I don't want my parents to worry about how I am going to go to college," she said.
Her mentor, Karen Christensen, tried to console Arispuro, but she also expressed her disappointment.
"Quest has removed the money from the equation, and that changes things completely," said Christensen, a senior systems engineer at Raytheon. "Ileanna is from a low-income family, and they've been banking on this agreement coming to fruition.
"Now is the time for Ileanna to start looking at colleges and applying, and they come and pull the rug out from under her. It's devastating."
David Highmark, the founder of the Quest program, said he hopes no children will be let down.
"We're not guaranteeing anything, but we feel confident that every child will get that tuition money as promised," Highmark said. "By definition of the program, they must do well, and that qualifies them for a variety of scholarships and aid."
The reason for the change is that the money set aside for tuition has "eroded," Highmark said.
A combination of factors led to Quest's inability to fund the scholarships, Highmark said.
First, the cost of college tuition has increased significantly from when the Quest program began in Phoenix in 2000.
Tuition at the University of Arizona this year is $6,842. At Arizona State University, it's $6,840, and at Northern Arizona University, tuition is $6,627. In 2000, it was $2,344 at all three universities, according to the Arizona Board of Regents Web site.
"We had dollars available that we thought - based on estimates - would be good through 2014," Highmark said. "But the increase in tuition has outpaced the increase in inflation."
