Gov. Mike Beebe has prompted a further release of lottery money that he estimates will put scholarship cash in the pockets of another 1,400 college students. His office’s release:

After receiving previously unreleased figures from the Arkansas Lottery Commission about available scholarship monies, Governor Mike Beebe has asked the Arkansas Department of Higher Education to fund an additional $5.9 million in lottery scholarships.

“Every incoming freshman who qualified for a lottery scholarship has received one, as have all current college students who have sustained enough credit hours throughout their time in school,” Beebe said. “This additional money will allow immediate scholarships to go to more students on the waiting list who are close to completing college and earning a degree.”

The additional funding will provide scholarships for the approximately 400 students remaining on the two-year institution waiting list, and for nearly 1,000 students on the four-year institution waiting list.

I have some reporting on the jump, but I’d first like to post the governor’s office response to commenters who say they believe qualified applicants have been denied scholarships:

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If they send you any information about their specific application that they believe was mishandled or misprocessed, let us know and we’ll get it to the right people at Higher Ed for review.

Again: We’re happy to mediate and find out what the situation is.

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