Local students are joining a grass-roots campaign started by state Rep. Mike Villarreal, D-San Antonio, to urge Texas lawmakers to increase funding for need-based financial aid.

Aided by a general fattening of the budget from federal stimulus money, House budget writers have proposed a $224 million boost — a 50 percent increase — for TEXAS grants, which help needy students go to college.

The budget is scheduled for a House vote Friday. If it passes, representatives must then square off with senators, who have asked for a more modest increase of $86 million.

At a news conference Monday at the University of Texas at San Antonio's downtown campus, Brent Ward, a 20-year-old junior, said students are borrowing more money to cover rising tuition, and graduates are walking into a sagging economy with an average debt load of $18,000.

Ward himself will graduate debt-free, thanks in part to the $2,500 a year he receives in TEXAS grants.

The pot of money for the grants has been underfunded, however, which meant that only half of eligible students received grants last year. The proposed increase would boost that percentage to two-thirds, Villarreal said.

“We fell behind on the promise” to cover all eligible students, he said.

Maintaining that investment after stimulus funds disappear will be a challenge. Villarreal is banking on an economic recovery to return Texas' budget to normal levels.

More money for TEXAS grants could ensure more students will succeed in college, according to a data analysis by the Legislative Budget Board. Controlling for other factors such as academic preparation, the analysis showed a grant accounts for a 46 percent increase in the odds a student will stay in school and graduate. That's equivalent to the advantage gained by raising a SAT score 350 points or a class rank by 30 percentile points, the analysis found.

Texas Commissioner of Higher Education Raymund Paredes has proposed adding merit criteria to TEXAS grants to ensure the state spends its money on students who have a better chance of succeeding. A bill that would put academically prepared students first in line is pending in the Senate.

Villarreal opposes such a change, saying it won't be necessary to prioritize if lawmakers fully fund the program.

Hoping to garner public support, Villarreal has set up an online petition at www.leaderslisten.org and a Facebook group called “Increase TEXAS grants.”