DURHAM - For the third time, opponents are lining up against a law that grants free tuition at UNC campuses for graduates of the N.C. School of Science and Mathematics, the prestigious state boarding school in Durham.

This time, the deal may get the scrutiny that opponents say it deserves. A bipartisan bill in the state House seeks to repeal a law that has granted free tuition to 577 students since 2004 at a cost of nearly $1.9 million. Once fully phased in, it will cost taxpayers more than $2.7 million.

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Paul Luebke, a Durham Democrat, and Rep. Paul "Skip" Stam, an Apex Republican, already has 35 members signed on.

For several years, critics have targeted the tuition grant because they say it's unfair to the state's other high-achieving high school graduates. They also don't like the way the grant became law -- with little debate, it appeared in the state budget in 2003 as a special provision.

Sen. Kay Hagan, a Greensboro Democrat, is the driving force behind the tuition grant. She used her influence as chairwoman of an appropriations committee to insert the grant into the budget.

Her campaign manager, Linda Cary, is married to Bill Cary, who was a member of the school's board, then its vice chairman and now its chairman.

That connection is only raising questions about the process.

"This apparent conflict of interest is a third reason the provision should be repealed," Luebke said. "If, in fact, a board member even hinted to Senator Hagan that she should put in a provision, that would be completely out of order."

Hagan said her friendship with Linda Cary had nothing to do with her effort to offer free state university tuition to NCSSM graduates. At the time, Hagan said, she did not know Cary's husband had any ties to the school. She said she did not talk to the Carys about the tuition provision.

"I want to be adamant about that -- absolutely, 100 percent, put my hand on the Bible," Hagan said.

The senator described Linda Cary as a longtime friend and campaign manager whom she pays to handle campaign reports. Hagan could not remember whether she paid Cary, a CPA, for her campaign-related work in 2003.

Bill Cary, a Greensboro lawyer, said he did not know about the tuition grant until after it had passed. "If Kay asked me one day, 'Is this a good idea for the school?' I really don't remember," he said.

Cary said he wasn't convinced it was best for the school back then. But he is now.

"It's a very bad idea to repeal it," he said. "It has proven to be a very effective tool for the school and the university system."

He said the tuition grant is basically a merit scholarship that helps motivate students in math and science, which are so important to the state's future economy.

"I just don't see how it's bad public policy to say we're going to reward kids who work very hard in a tough discipline and a discipline the state needs," Cary said.

The grant program resulted in a surge in applications of 80 percent, according to the school. Since 2004, an average of 82 percent of NCSSM graduates have attended UNC schools, up from an average of 55 percent.

"We do know right away that a much larger percentage are staying in the state," said Gerald Boarman, chancellor of the school.

Boarman recalled that the late Sen. Jeanne Lucas had suggested the idea at a graduation ceremony at the school before 2003.

The school provides two free years of education at a state cost of about $47,000 per student, Boarman said.

"I want to keep those kids here," he said. "I hope the mission [of the school] isn't to educate these kids at the expense to the state and then ship them out."

Grants called unfair

But the giveaway strikes some as exceedingly unfair to top students from other schools who may even score higher on the SAT test but don't get a grant.

"You either do it for all who qualify or you do it for none," said Robert Gardner, a Raleigh retiree who has spent several years opposing the policy. "You do it based on merit, not the school they go to."

Luebke calls the grant program "horrible, undemocratic public policy."

The grant also tends to help students from more affluent families. "This group, of all people, does not need further subsidies," Luebke said. "If there were a subsidy for Science and Math graduates, it must be based on financial need."

It's unclear whether the repeal attempt will be successful. While it has gained support in the House, in the past it has gone nowhere in the Senate.

Hagan defended the provision as an effort to keep the best science and math students in North Carolina. "We need to be patting these kids on the back," she said.