Employee Information

Post-Secondary Education Scholarships

FOR DEPENDENT Children OF CLERK & COMPTROLLER EMPLOYEES

Congratulations to Sarah Huff, Breya Howzell and Michael Wetula! They were selected to receive $1,000 college scholarships through the Clerk’s Dress Down Friday program in 2011. Each recipient submitted a stellar essay and dedicated countless volunteer hours to needy organizations. They are dependents of Bonnie Huff (Accounting), Michelle Howzell (Accounting), and Phyllis Zuckerman (UFC).

Overview

The Clerk & Comptroller’s Post-Secondary Education Scholarships are awarded annually to three dependent children of employees. The donations are generated through the Clerk’s Dress Down Friday charity program, which allows employees to donate to local charities in addition to the scholarship program. Each recipient receives a one-time payment of $1,000 and is selected based on a 500-word essay, community service participation, and grade point average. Applicants are notified if they received a scholarship by mid-August.

Criteria

1. Applicant must be an employee’s natural child, stepchild, adopted child, grandchild, child of the employee’s domestic partner, or child an employee has legal custody of, based on the requirements of dependency of children as established by the administration of benefits by the Human Resources Department (read more).
2. Applicant must have a minimum 3.0 unweighted grade point average.
3. Applicant must be a high school senior or college student who is enrolled full-time (minimum 12 credit hours) at an accredited college or university. The applicant may already have college credits from previous studies while attending high school.
4. Scholarship awards are for use as tuition and fees required for enrollment or attendance, or fees, books, supplies, and equipment required for courses immediately following disbursement of the award (see Tax Considerations).
5. Scholarship recipients must provide the Human Resources Department with proof of enrollment following the school’s drop/add deadline in order to receive the scholarship check. All applicants are notified if they received a scholarship by mid-August.
6. Past scholarship recipients, and dependents of director or officer-level Clerk employees, are not eligible to apply.
   
   

Instructions

1. Download and complete the application form, then mail it with the required materials listed below to:
   
           Clerk & Comptroller, Palm Beach County
           Attn: Human Resources
           301 N. Olive Ave, 9th Floor
           West Palm Beach, FL 33401
   
2. Required Materials
   
   
   1. 500-word Essay – The topic of the essay is “How will your area of study have a positive impact on a current local, state, or national issue important to Americans?” Word limit is strictly enforced. Applications exceeding the limit will be returned. Essays must be typed, double spaced, in Arial font 10 pt. type.
   2. One copy of applicant’s unofficial high school or college transcripts.
   3. One proof of college or university course enrollment/registration (minimum 12 credit hours required).

The Clerk’s office will not consider incomplete applications for the award.

Tax Considerations

If you received a scholarship, all or part of it may be taxable, even if you did not receive a Form W-2. Generally, the entire amount is taxable if you are not a candidate for a degree. If you are a candidate for a degree, you generally can exclude from income that part of the grant used for:

• Tuition and fees required for enrollment or attendance, or
• Fees, books, supplies, and equipment required for your courses.

You cannot exclude from income any part of the grant used for other purposes, such as room and board.

A scholarship generally is an amount paid for the benefit of a student at an educational institution to aid in the pursuit of studies. For example, if an award recipient receives $1,000 and pays tuition, fees, books and supplies in the amount of $700, and pays room and board with the remaining $300, then $300 is taxable income.

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