Letter: RI Promise Scholarship deserves support

Posted 4/24/17

To the editor:

The Rhode Island Promise Scholarship expansion being proposed by the governor is something that all of us as Rhode Islanders should rally behind. By giving Rhode Island high school …

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Letter: RI Promise Scholarship deserves support

Posted

To the editor:

The Rhode Island Promise Scholarship expansion being proposed by the governor is something that all of us as Rhode Islanders should rally behind. By giving Rhode Island high school graduates access to two years of no tuition at CCRI, RIC or URI, we are making a smart investment in the future of our state. 

I am graduating from RIC so I will not see any direct benefit from this program, however as a Rhode Islander I will see a lot of the indirect benefits. Young people will be able to get degrees that will help them get high paying jobs with minimal debt burden. These people will then be able to start families, buy a home or a car, and pay taxes without worrying about crushing student loan debt.

It is not like these students will be handed money for free, no strings attached. They will have to be in good academic standing and must be full-time students. They also must fill out the federal student aid forms and receive any Pell grants or what have you first before getting any money from the state. (Quick side note: Pell grants came into being thanks to Sen. Claiborne Pell of Rhode Island. We have a history of Rhode Islanders supporting higher education.) 

In many cases students will be receiving a couple hundred dollars here, maybe a thousand there, but that can often be the difference between someone enrolling for a semester and finishing their degree or dropping out with a whole lot of debt and nothing to show for it. These small investments in our students will be a positive economic boon to every Rhode Islander.

There is widespread support for this program from all over. Chambers of commerce all over the state are endorsing the program. Having an educated workforce is good for businesses. Obviously, the colleges are for it since they will receive some much-needed funding increases that have been slow to recover since the recession. Students and their parents are in favor of it, too. 

The days of getting a good job that can support a family out of high school are over. Students need some sort of education beyond that to survive in the economy of tomorrow, whether it is an associate’s degree, or a certificate in a trade, or a bachelor's degree, we need to invest in educating people beyond the 12th grade. The governor’s RI Promise Scholarship is a great first step. 

People who support this plan should contact our representatives in the General Assembly and voice your support. They serve us and we have a right to make our wishes known.

I urge our elected officials, Reps. Jay Edwards, Ken Mendonca, Dennis Canario, and Sen. Jim Seveney, to take up this cause and support this program. The people of Rhode Island need some long-term thinkers in the State House; I hope our representatives from Portsmouth can be those people. 

Taylor Dame

258 Middle Road

Portsmouth

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