Governor to push for free tuition
Local taxes, donations could send more high school grads to college
February 2, 2007
Gov. Jennifer Granholm wants to give more Michigan high school graduates who can't otherwise afford it a chance to go to college.
In her State of the State address Tuesday, she will outline a plan -- inspired by the bold Kalamazoo Promise -- that would offer the incentive of tax money to match private donations to create a college-tuition plan for all graduates of public schools in economically stressed communities, administration officials said Thursday.
Detroit parent Ted Spencer said he likes the idea.
"We're losing a lot of kids between the third and sixth grade," Spencer said. "We need something to motivate them, and I think this would be beautiful."
The Kalamazoo plan is funded entirely by anonymous donors.
Granholm's plan would rely on deep-pocketed benefactors, but also match their money with a portion of local property taxes. The combined funding would pay tuition costs that aren't covered by financial aid such as Pell grants, scholarships or the Michigan Promise, which gives up to $4,000 for college.
Part of the funding would come from Promise Zones -- most likely entire cities -- which would capture half the annual increase in revenues from the existing 6-mill property tax on homes that pays for schools statewide, the State Education Tax (SET).
How much private money would be required before the taxes are tapped under Granholm's plan hasn't been determined.
Neither have other details, which must be discussed with potential donors and school districts before legislation is drafted, said Chuck Wilbur, Granholm's chief policy adviser.
For example, it is not known whether the tuition grants would go to students in charter schools, which are numerous in Detroit.
The tuition plan would be limited to areas with high levels of unemployment and poverty and low academic achievement.
Wilbur said groups in Detroit, Flint, Jackson and west Michigan have discussed ways to replicate the Kalamazoo Promise in their communities.
"We're doing this because we know the level of interest is high," Wilbur said. "Where struggling communities are trying to use higher education to create a better future for themselves, the governor believes the state should be part of that effort."
One potential problem is that in some cities, property-tax revenues haven't increased much as home values have stagnated and little new construction has occurred.
Detroit revenues from the SET are expected to rise by $2 million a year; Granholm's plan would take half of that for college tuitions. But in Flint, SET revenues rose by only $151,000 from 2005 to 2006.
That would create a total of about $76,000 for college tuition for Flint graduates to share.
Wilbur said the free-tuition program would stimulate property values to rise faster by attracting more families with children, and more development.
The Kalamazoo Promise is credited with increasing enrollment in Kalamazoo public schools by 1,000 students this year. Previously, the district was losing 250 students a year.
Kalamazoo Mayor Hannah McKinney said the city's home prices have risen by 10%, compared with flat prices in surrounding areas.
Among those considering the free-tuition concept is the Greater Flint Education Exploratory Committee. But no major donor has stepped forward, said foundation president Kathi Horton.
"The thought that there could be tools from the state, or the state could be an active partner in achieving this, is very encouraging," Horton said.
The scholarship program would improve the economy and give hope to young people who have the ability -- but not the money -- to attend college, said Carol Goss, president of the Skillman Foundation.
But she said community leaders must step up.
"As a foundation, this isn't something we could do by ourselves," she said.
In the Detroit Public Schools, free college tuition could reverse a troubling trend. The district has lost 60,000 students in the last decade, and the Board of Education is considering a plan to close 52 school buildings.
"We would retain more students and probably attract more students to the district," board President Jimmy Womack said. He said it would encourage more students to not only complete their high school education, but to also pursue higher education.
Sen. Nancy Cassis, R-Novi, said the details would determine the support Granholm's plan gets from lawmakers.
Cassis chairs the Senate Finance Committee, which likely would have to approve the property-tax portion of Granholm's proposal.
Contact CHRIS CHRISTOFF at 517-372-8660 or christoff@freepress.com.
Copyright © 2006 Detroit Free Press Inc.
Promise renews city's hope for the future
Secret donation opens the door for students to go to college
February 2, 2007
Originally published June 4, 2006.
KALAMAZOO -- Elizabeth Lauer knows too well the sacrifices her mother, a single parent and former migrant worker, made to raise three children.
They "made me want to work hard to have the things I want in life," said Elizabeth, 18, a senior at Kalamazoo's Phoenix High School.
Her mother, Virginia Mills, barely had managed to finance the education of her older brother, who graduated this spring from Michigan State University. College seemed out of reach for Elizabeth.
Then came news of the Kalamazoo Promise.
The anonymously funded scholarship has changed Elizabeth's life and the lives of thousands of other students with its promise of full or partial tuition for nearly every graduate of Kalamazoo Public Schools.
"Words can't express what we feel," said Elizabeth, tears welling up in her eyes. "This is like a miracle."
Mills cried as she talked about what the tuition guarantee will mean for her daughter.
"I keep telling her I don't want her to be like me -- not having an education," she said. "I'm so happy for the promise."
In a district where enrollment has been on a downward spiral -- losing on average 250 students a year -- officials project that as many as 450 new students will enroll this fall because of the scholarship.
Students say the promise has motivated them to get better grades.
And a city where a quarter of the 77,000 residents live in poverty now feels revitalized.
"We really were in a crisis before the promise," Kalamazoo Mayor Hannah McKinney said.
Fiscal problems remain, she said, but now there is hope.
That hope is heard through the voices of the teenagers who now realize that the promise has the power to change their lives.
Elizabeth will attend Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, where she'll decide between a career in business or medicine. Eventually, she wants to transfer to her dream school, MSU.
Her only regret -- one echoed by many students -- is that the promise was not part of the landscape sooner.
"I would have worked harder," said Elizabeth, who attends an alternative high school for students who have trouble succeeding in a traditional classroom setting.
A rosier future
It's hard to imagine one scholarship fund having as much impact on a school district as the Kalamazoo Promise is expected to have.
Like most urban districts, Kalamazoo Public Schools has struggled financially and academically. Its MEAP scores are well below state averages. More than half the students -- 61 % -- receive free or reduced-price lunches, a common barometer of school poverty.
The district has cut $20 million from its budget over the last seven years.
But just months after the promise was announced last fall, administrators now are looking at a decidedly rosier financial picture.
The current enrollment of 10,200 is expected to grow by 450 students for the 2006-07 school year, with the increases coming from charter schools, private schools and new residents, Deputy Superintendent Gary Start said.
And instead of cutting its budget, the district actually is going to have more money this year. The boost in enrollment is likely to bring an additional $3.3 million -- $2.3 million of which would go toward hiring new teachers.
The remaining money might be used for efforts such as lowering class sizes.
"The promise is going to save Kalamazoo," Start said. "Many urban districts are in a downward spiral. If you lose students, you lose funding. This is changing the spiral to an upward spiral."
The promise rewards longevity in the district, so families who want to take advantage of it -- and get tuition paid in full -- will have to move within its boundaries and enroll their children by kindergarten.
As he talked about the program, Start could barely contain his excitement.
"I feel like I've had two careers: One was before the promise and one was after," he said.
But it's in the lives of individual students that the promise is making the biggest impact.
"I didn't know how I was going to pay for college," said Emily Midling, 17, a Loy Norrix High School senior who graduates June 8. "This just means so much to me. I just see it like changing my life."
Danielle Betke, an 18-year-old senior at Phoenix High, remembers being skeptical at first when she heard about the promise. It took weeks before the reality sunk in. No longer was community college her only option. Now, she's planning to attend WMU.
"It was crazy. My mom cried."
The donors "don't know what kind of impact they're having on KPS students. They are changing KPS students' lives forever," Danielle said.
Though Danielle doesn't know who the donors are, this is clear: "They must have a lot of faith in KPS students. Loy Norrix and Central don't have the best MEAP scores or send a lot of students to Harvard. They figure maybe this can make us more of what we want to be."
Families first, then businesses
The city itself may undergo a transformation, too.
"We've just been a city people move away from," said David Harris, 18, a senior at Loy Norrix High School. He's enrolled at WMU, after initially believing the most he'd be able to afford was a community college.
The promise, David said, will help the city grow and encourage people to stay.
Bob Jorth, executive assistant for the Kalamazoo Promise, the fund's sole employee, agrees that there's been a change.
"There's more community pride," he said. "The community understands this is an extraordinary gift and that the whole community needs to step forward and show that they appreciate it and they're going to utilize it in a way that honors the scope."
While there hasn't yet been a rash of people buying homes within the district's boundaries, it's only a matter of time, said Bob Rateike, a real estate agent with ERA Network Real Estate in Kalamazoo.
"Long-term, the Kalamazoo Promise is going to be a real benefit to the area and to the real estate market. If the schools improve their reputation, it will have a positive impact," Rateike said.
McKinney said there already are groups of people working to determine "how we can best leverage the Kalamazoo Promise to really help the whole area's economic and community development."
The city itself sure needs it.
In the 1990s, it lost a General Motors plant. Gone are several paper mills that helped fuel the economy.
"People have been leaving the core city, moving to the suburbs," McKinney said, citing the quality of the school district, high taxes and fear of crime. "What the promise has done for us is take one of those off the table. It's up to us to deal with the other two."
She expects the promise will eventually bring in more businesses and stabilize the neighborhoods.
"We're going to see families move first, and then businesses," McKinney said.
'Everyone should go to college'
In the office at Phoenix High School, a large clipboard containing dozens of applications for the Kalamazoo Promise is displayed prominently on a rack.
The school serves struggling students, and of the 48 seniors who are graduating, 10 already have earned the scholarship. Principal Von Washington Jr. expects more to be accepted.
University officials say that even though the promise is a guarantee of funding, students still have to meet admissions standards.
"They might try harder now because they know they can get to college," said Chris Crook, 17, a Phoenix graduating senior.
Senior Elizabeth Lauer used to ride by big office buildings and dream of one day becoming a chief executive officer. But it wasn't something she ever thought would happen.
Until now.
"Everyone should go to college, so we're not depending on welfare and food stamps," Elizabeth said. "With college, you're pretty much guaranteed a career. ... You just have to want it."
Contact LORI HIGGINS at 248-351-3694 or higgins@freepress.com.
Copyright © 2006 Detroit Free Press Inc.
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