NORFOLK, Va. — Jill Dunn, the wife of a retired military officer, says the changes made to a Virginia military veteran education program infuriate her.
"We were promised that Virginia was going to become the strongest and most veteran-friendly state in the nation. It's absolutely the opposite of that." Dunn said.
The Virginia Military Survivors and Dependents Education Program has allowed veteran and their dependents to attend public universities in Virginia tuition-free as long as they are commonwealth residents.
"This was part of the big picture of our financial plan for our retirement. We've been ticking down the clock since we became residents knowing that in the fall of 2025. Our son was going to be entering as a freshman at a state university," Dunn said.
Founded in 1996, the program provides a tuition and fee waiver and a stipend for veterans who are permanently disabled, as well as their spouses or kids going to public universities. Last month, VMSDEP was at risk of not being funded. But with a new budget signed into law, the program survived. But with changes that some military families didn't expect.
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The signed budget provides nearly $20 million to offset the cost of the waiver. But it also makes it a last-dollar payer. That means eligible students will have to fill out the FAFSA and use other available aid before the waiver kicks in.
It's a reversal of how the program has worked in the past.
On Wednesday, Youngkin issued an executive directive to establish a task force to help inform the development and guidance of the program to minimize the impact on military and veteran families. Dunn says this doesn't solve the damage that's already done.
"I had to explain this to my son on Mother's Day. What the governor did. I had to tell him, that we have failed as parents. We failed because we believed this...This pack of lies that our governor told us we believed in him," Dunn said.
Dunn is the wife of a retired military officer, she and her husband decided to settle down in the commonwealth because MVSDEP would remove the financial burden of college. Through tears, she told her son that they may not be able to afford school, and he had a response that broke her heart.
"He said, don't worry, Mom, I'll join the Navy. I'll go enlist ...I'll become a Navy SEAL, just like my godfather." Dunn said.