Parties differ on ways to cut college costs

While state Republicans and Democrats both agree that college should be more affordable for Michigan families, they disagree about which one of two proposed tuition-assistance plans should be implemented.

Michigan House Democrats last week proposed a detailed agenda for improving education, including a program that would provide free community college tuition for students in return for good grades and attendance in high school.

Gov. John Engler, in his State of the State address, followed suit with a surprise proposal that would award a college scholarship of up to $3,000 to students who score well on a standardized high school test.

Engler spokesperson John Truscott said Engler's speech was finalized a week earlier and was not meant to counter the Democratic agenda introduced earlier last week.

Andy Hetzel, spokesperson for House Democratic Leader Rep. Michael Hanley (D-Saginaw), said that although the two plans differ in many respects, they both support a bipartisan issue.

"Democrats are encouraged to see the governor finally embracing what has long been a Democratic concern, and that is to make cost of college more affordable," Hanley said.

The Democratic proposal involves the creation of a Hope Scholarship program in Michigan, which would pay for high school students who have a 3.0 grade point average and 90 percent attendance in school to attend community college for up to two years.

Rep. Gilda Jacobs (D-Huntington Woods) said the Democratic proposal is in its early stages and could be modified to include four-year universities as well.

"I think the concept is to expand," Jacobs said.

Engler's plan calls for the establishment of Michigan Merit Awards for students who score well on the Michigan Educational Assessment Program test.

According to the proposal, students who pass the MEAP test in high school would receive $2,500 toward tuition to any in-state college. Middle school students who pass the test would receive an additional $500, bringing the total amount available to each student to $3,000.

"Judging by last year, 21,000 students would have qualified," Truscott said. He said the program is projected to cost about $59 million in its first year.

Funds for the scholarship program would come from tobacco settlement money the state will receive beginning next year, Truscott said, adding that Michigan will receive $100 million as the first installment of the $8 billion settlement.

Truscott said the program, if passed, will likely affect current high school seniors.

"Students who take the test this school year could be receiving the money next fall," Truscott said.

Truscott argued that the tobacco settlement would provide a long-term source of funding, whereas the Democratic Hope Scholarship proposal has no financial backing.

"The difference is that ours is paid for," Truscott said. "We'd like to set up an endowment fund so this could pay for itself" with its own interest.

Republicans and Democrats disagree about whether the tobacco money should be routed into the Michigan Merit Awards program.

"What better use can there be for tobacco money coming back in state," House Speaker Chuck Perricone (R-Kalamazoo) said after Engler's speech last week.

Rep. Lingg Brewer (D-Holt) said Engler is using money for his own agenda that should go toward other programs.

"To me the governor is creating new programs that have a lot of superficial appeal without funding the old ones," Brewer said.

Jacobs said she thinks funds from the tobacco settlement should be used for health issues.

"I think his proposal is great," Jacobs said, but "I'm not sure if he should use tobacco money to pay for it."

Truscott disputed Democratic claims that Michigan underfunds health programs and said "there will be some health-related spending" from the settlement.

"We already spend more than most other states on tobacco and health issues," Truscott said.

John Boshoven, counselor for continuing education at Ann Arbor Community High School, said Engler may have an ulterior motive in using the MEAP test for his plan.

"It certainly is a good motivator to have kids take the MEAP," Boshoven said.

He said many students have been opting not to take the MEAP test in recent years, because the test serves mainly as an evaluation of high school curriculum - not as an individual students' academic performance.

"Kids come to us and say, 'What's in it for me?'" Boshoven said.

Truscott said Engler's plan uses the MEAP test because high school grades are non-standardized.

"A 'B' in different school districts means different things," Truscott said.

Boshoven said the Hope Scholarship program would be most beneficial to students who may think college is not for them.

"Those aren't the kids that are deciding between Washtenaw (Community College) and U of M," Boshoven said. "They're the ones who are deciding between Washtenaw and getting a job."

Donna Kennedy, Democratic policy analyst on higher education, said although the Democratic plan in its current form pays only tuition for community colleges, it also includes eliminating sales tax on textbooks and allowing tuition tax credits - issues that Engler's plan does not address.

"Those kinds of things will go further," Kennedy said.

Brewer said he hopes Democrats and Republicans can find a compromise between the two plans.

"I think both of them have some merit," Brewer said. "There needs to be some common ground."

Boshoven said Michigan is attempting to join other states that have implemented tuition-incentive programs.

The state of Georgia has had a HOPE Scholarship Program since 1993. Funded by the state's lottery, the program provides tuition, fees and a book allowance for students with a 'B' average in high school to attend a public college in Georgia.

During the 1997-98 school year, HOPE scholarships totaled $173.3 million for 136,725 students in Georgia. Since the program's inception, nearly 400,000 students have received scholarships.

Hope Scholarships

Democrats

Requirement:'B' average, 90 percent attendance

Awards:community college tuition

Funding: State Budget

Michigan Merit Awards

Gov. Engler

Requirement:Passing score on MEAP test

Awards$3,000 in-state tuition

Funding: tobacco settlement

02-04-99