With Wisconsin’s state budget still the subject of legislative wrangling, nearly 3,800 college students are still waiting to hear whether they will qualify for a state need-based grant this year, the Wisconsin State Journal, a newspaper in Madison, reported. And the number could grow.

Gov. Jim Doyle and other Democrats, who control the State Senate, have proposed spending $50-million on the program, up from $43-million last year. Under the budget approved by the Republican-controlled Assembly, however, the program could receive as little as $39-million.

The Higher Educational Aids Board, which oversees the state’s financial-aid system, has already awarded about 22,400 student grants for the coming year, tapping out its resources for now. Connie Hutchison, the board’s executive secretary, said that if the Assembly’s budget is enacted, “we’ll have more than 6,000 students by the end of the year who would be eligible for awards but wouldn’t receive them.” —Charles Huckabee