By Ashley M. Casey

Associate Editor

Nothing about 2020 has been normal, especially for students dealing with remote learning, social isolation and the uncertainty of what lies ahead.

For students like Jackie Boutilier, that uncertainty includes not knowing if they will receive scholarships they were promised by New York State.

Jackie, the salutatorian of C.W. Baker High School’s Class of 2020 and a first-year student at St. Lawrence University, was informed in March that she and nine other Baker students had been awarded Scholarships for Academic Excellence (SAE) worth $500 or $1,500 a year for up to five years. She and her classmates are among 8,000 SAE recipients across the state.

“That’s the frustrating part,” said Julie Boutilier, Jackie’s mother. “We’re not talking a handful of kids — this affects 8,000 kids.”

As the pandemic continued into the summer and the Boutilier family prepared to pay Jackie’s tuition bill for her first semester, there was still no word about the scholarship. Julie Boutilier contacted the New York State Education Department in June and was told that the scholarships were on hold.

“Notification of Scholarships for Academic Excellence (SAE) awards has been delayed as all statewide expenditures are being reviewed out of an abundance of caution at this time. Following that determination, we will move forward with the notification mailing to all high schools,” reads a statement on NYSED’s website. “As soon as our office learns more, we will update this website. Thank you for your continued commitment to our students.”

“We had already paid Jackie’s bill and you have to report the scholarships to financial aid. We had to come up with another $1,500. I’m sure the other families are having to do the same thing,” Julie Boutilier said.

Jackie told the Messenger she was fortunate to have received another scholarship to defray her expenses, but not being able to get answers has been frustrating.

“That was something that we were all promised that we were going to get and nothing was ever communicated to us that it wasn’t [coming],” she said.

Jackie returned home just before Thanksgiving and wrapped up her semester remotely earlier this month. Still, the family received no word from the state on her SAE funding. Julie Boutilier again contacted NYSED.

“We contacted the Department of Education several times and are told awards have been delayed as all statewide expenditures are being reviewed out of an abundance of caution at this time. Further, they could not tell us if Jacqueline and the other student would ever receive their scholarships,” she wrote in a Nov. 18 email to NYSED. “We are extremely disappointed with how the scholarships have been handled. If funding was an issue, it would have been better not to award the scholarships in the first place rather than award them and then take them away or delay. It demonstrates a total disregard for these students who counted on these funds to assist with the high cost of their higher education.”

One week later, Julie Boutilier received a response from Christopher Fernando on behalf of NYSED’s Scholarship Unit.

“Thank you for your outreach on the 2020 Scholarships for Academic Excellence (SAE) and description of how this has impacted your family as well as others in the same circumstances. Our Office understands your frustration with this extended delay,” Fernando wrote. “The New York State Education Department (SED) and the Higher Education Services Corporation (HESC) are not presently authorized by the NYS Division of Budget to approve 2020 SAE awards, but please know that as soon as that changes we will update our website and commence with the notifications.”

The website, Julie Boutilier noted, has not been updated in nine months.

“It’s kind of frustrating because now we’re going into Jackie’s second semester. We’re just going under the assumption we’re not going to have that money,” she said.

The Boutiliers are not the only ones experiencing radio silence from the state. Sarah Buckshot, public information specialist for the Baldwinsville Central School District, told the Messenger that neither Acting Superintendent Joseph Debarbieri nor Baker High School Principal Kris Denton has “received any information on this matter.”

The Boutiliers contacted Assemblyman Will Barclay, who is also the Assembly Minority Leader. According to Julie Boutilier, Barclay’s office said they did not receive any more information from NYSED than the Boutiliers did. Barclay’s office told the Messenger that they are continuing to look into the matter.

When contacted by email, NYSED officials told the Messenger that NYSED does not administer the scholarship funds, but the NYS Higher Education Services Corporation (HESC) does. The officials referred further inquiries to HESC or to the NYS Division of the Budget. At press time, neither state agency had responded to a request for comment.

“I don’t blame the Department of Ed. [The person I talked to] said had they known, they probably would not have notified the kids,” Julie Boutilier said, adding that from her understanding, Gov. Andrew Cuomo ordered the budget freeze that has prevented the release of Jackie’s scholarship.

While the scholarship waiting game continues, Jackie is gearing up for her second semester at St. Lawrence. Students are scheduled to return to campus in early January and take classes remotely for the first week.

“It went really well,” Jackie said of her first semester. “My school did a really, really good job of trying to make everything as normal as possible.”

Jackie said St. Lawrence tests students for COVID every other week and strictly enforced mask-wearing and social distancing. At first, students were restricted to interacting with only the other kids on their floor. Gradually, their circles were allowed to expand to their dorm building and then a neighboring dorm.

“It was hard for the first few weeks adjusting to campus life. We didn’t have a lot of friends going in and because of the COVID restrictions it was hard to make friends at first,” Jackie said.

Clubs and other extracurricular activities went virtual, but Jackie was able to rehearse with the dance team a few times.

“I just had to allow the first few weeks to happen,” she said.