The Kentucky General Assembly approved its two year budget this year, and Northern Kentucky University's president is already lobbying for more money.

As our June Lefler reports, the request is to pay for a program that brings high school students to campus every day.

Gifted high school juniors and seniors can take classes at NKU during regular school hours for dual credit.

These are students who are ready for college level work with an emphasis on admitting first generation students and low income students.

We have a campus based commute model.

It's actually what the program was built to do.

We we have found that it's the best of both worlds for our students who live with their families, come to the university from 8 to 230 in the afternoon and then return to their communities to do arts and athletics and other kinds of activities in their native high schools.

Northern Kentucky lawmakers say they've seen the success of the Vote True by Young Scholars Academy.

It provides an opportunity for kids that are coming from underserved areas that they would never, ever get.

I live in Pennington County and counties embrace this, and it's been such a successful experience for the students.

NKU wants to extend college prep learning to Northern Kentucky middle schoolers as well.

But the university's president says current state funding means the program will suffer.

There was also additional language in House Bill 500 that prohibited seek funding from supporting the academies and particularly unexpectedly, in the GSA program, the school districts participating in the BSA, as we now call it, program.

We're sending not only their seek dollars to support the GSA program, but other funds as well.

Those funds were paying for not just their dual credit tuition, but also transportation and meals and textbooks and counselors and other staff to ensure their success.

The university is asking for $750,000 now and seek funding tied to individual public school students in the next budget cycle.

It's also asking lawmakers to match private investment dollars.

Lawmakers did not immediately accept the ask.

Well, do they arrive at the school at eight and leave and go to NKU and come back at three?

Is that child at school or not?

Where should the state dollars go?

I love the innovation that you've got partners that are committed enough to your program to send a portion.

Probably not all, but a portion of their total total seat dollar, to you to help elevate these kids in ways that changes what normal looks like, because it makes the other students that may not attend Bo true, but suddenly realize that normal looks different in my community.

Opportunities are there, but I think you can understand why we chose to spend tax state taxpayer dollars in a more intelligent way.

NKU says it's serving 290 young scholars, but could scale up to 600 with more funding for Kentucky Edition.

I'm June Leffler.