DC council thinking about giving every student $100k for college

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I thought it was interesting to read in there that the highest amounts will go to dc students who enrolled in public schools ( DCPS or Charter ) starting in 6th grade. Explicityly meant to be a way to hold on to families who normally leave the public schools after elementary school. Also, there is a requirement that the student maintain primary residence in DC throughout their college years

I'm sure there must be some valid arguments against this (other than cost) but, on the face of it, I love this idea. I have two kids in DCPS, east of the park, and anything that encourages other families to keep their kids in DCPS is OK by me.

[Anonymous]

Wow this is good news. When I went to college they have 10k for a public college and 2500 for Private. Glad I have my three kids in public schools. Never considered private anyway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is not unprecedented:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/16/magazine/kalamazoo-mich-the-city-that-pays-for-college.html?_r=0

Though the main difference with the program in Kalamazoo is that the students must attend a Michigan public university or community college (and it was a private donation, not city funded). I have relatives in Kalamazoo using this program and it is already making a big difference.

In practice, it could revitalize DCPS and charters beyond elementary school. Families would stick around and work to make it happen if the grant is that significant. It could revitalize the economy if people stay in the city for the long haul. I really hope they pass this. It would be a game changer.

Is this why Detroit is broke.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it is unnecessary.

There is already a $10K per year program.

In addition - the poorest (qualified) students are getting scholarships and aid through other federal programs.

There does not need to be additional programs.

The $10,000 per year still does not come close to what in-state tuition is at state universities and is therefore inadequate to say the least.

It is not supposed to cover in-state tuition. It is supposed to bring down the cost to in-state tuition (from the out of state tuition). Perhaps the average gap between in state and out of state is larger than $10k, then raise it to $15k, but its NOT supposed to cover all the tuition.

[Anonymous]

Why not just simplify it by enabling DC residents to claim in-state tuition at any public university? That would be a lot easier to administer and would ideally not be overly burdensome on any particular state. If, in reality, it ended up that DC residents wound up going disproportionately to public schools in VA and MD, then just think of it as a trade-off for DC not being able to impose a commuter tax.

DC has a population of what, 500,000? How many graduating college-bound seniors are we actually talking about?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is not unprecedented:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/16/magazine/kalamazoo-mich-the-city-that-pays-for-college.html?_r=0

Though the main difference with the program in Kalamazoo is that the students must attend a Michigan public university or community college (and it was a private donation, not city funded). I have relatives in Kalamazoo using this program and it is already making a big difference.

In practice, it could revitalize DCPS and charters beyond elementary school. Families would stick around and work to make it happen if the grant is that significant. It could revitalize the economy if people stay in the city for the long haul. I really hope they pass this. It would be a game changer.

Is this why Detroit is broke.

No, sorry, Detroit went broke over graft and short-sighted policies. In comparison, this is smart policy-making, probably one that pays for itself in increased tax revenue within a decade or so.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why not just simplify it by enabling DC residents to claim in-state tuition at any public university? That would be a lot easier to administer and would ideally not be overly burdensome on any particular state. If, in reality, it ended up that DC residents wound up going disproportionately to public schools in VA and MD, then just think of it as a trade-off for DC not being able to impose a commuter tax.

DC has a population of what, 500,000? How many graduating college-bound seniors are we actually talking about?

I like this idea, but state schools would have a problem with this because they would lose revenue.

[Anonymous]

If you think residency cheaters are here now...wait til this go in effect. The residency requirement to hold a student too once they are enrolled in college is ridiculous. I guess it is to protect DC voters' registrations.

[Anonymous]

I hope and pray this goes through…4 kids in public.

[Anonymous]

Buffalo, NY program:

http://buffalo.sayyestoeducation.org/college-scholarships/overview

[Anonymous]

For a family of 4, income of over $138,000 would give you max grant of $5K per year. Good, but not as good as $100K sounds. Well, Catania is running for mayor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is not unprecedented:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/16/magazine/kalamazoo-mich-the-city-that-pays-for-college.html?_r=0

Though the main difference with the program in Kalamazoo is that the students must attend a Michigan public university or community college (and it was a private donation, not city funded). I have relatives in Kalamazoo using this program and it is already making a big difference.

In practice, it could revitalize DCPS and charters beyond elementary school. Families would stick around and work to make it happen if the grant is that significant. It could revitalize the economy if people stay in the city for the long haul. I really hope they pass this. It would be a game changer.

Is this why Detroit is broke.

No, sorry, Detroit went broke over graft and short-sighted policies. In comparison, this is smart policy-making, probably one that pays for itself in increased tax revenue within a decade or so.

Kalamazoo, not Detroit. And it was a private gift, not public funds. Private or public, it is smart, and forward thinking - an investment in the future, something very few of our politicians think about these days. It would be nice to see DC policy that invests in children in addition to developers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:if the kids fail out they should have to pay it back

Damned mooching young bucks with their welfare Cadillacs and their food stamp steaks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it is unnecessary.

There is already a $10K per year program.

In addition - the poorest (qualified) students are getting scholarships and aid through other federal programs.

There does not need to be additional programs.

The $10,000 per year still does not come close to what in-state tuition is at state universities and is therefore inadequate to say the least.

It is not supposed to cover in-state tuition. It is supposed to bring down the cost to in-state tuition (from the out of state tuition). Perhaps the average gap between in state and out of state is larger than $10k, then raise it to $15k, but its NOT supposed to cover all the tuition.

I did not say it should cover cost of in-state tuition. I think it should make the cost for DC students the same as in-state tuition in other states. Currently, even with DCTAG, DC students would still be paying about $10,000 more per year than an in-state student in VA or MD or elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I thought it was interesting to read in there that the highest amounts will go to dc students who enrolled in public schools ( DCPS or Charter ) starting in 6th grade. Explicityly meant to be a way to hold on to families who normally leave the public schools after elementary school. Also, there is a requirement that the student maintain primary residence in DC throughout their college years

Even though our kid goes to charter, I think a law such as this should apply to all students in DC whether public, charter, private, or homeschool. It is more fair that way since DC does not have any stellar state universities. And ftr, we could never afford private school here!