Paying for college in Pa.: A way that makes sense

AS members of the Pennsylvania House, we were excited to hear Gov. Rendell make helping Pennsylvania families afford college a major priority in his budget address.

The cost of a college education in our state is now a quiet crisis. Pennsylvania's public universities cost more than those in almost any other state. Too often, students don't go to college or drop out because they can't afford it. This is both a personal tragedy and society's loss.

While the governor has proposed dramatically increasing financial aid to college students, we believe a better way to help Pennsylvania's families afford a college education, and a better investment in our state's economic future, is to create a REACH Scholarship program.

Modeled after Georgia's HOPE Scholarship, REACH would be a statewide merit-based program. Under it, any high school senior with a 3.0 GPA and 90 percent attendance would receive a full-tuition scholarship to any public college or university in the state. All are eligible for the REACH scholarship, regardless of race, religion, age and family income. It is strictly based on merit. REACH provides opportunity to those who have shown responsibility.

Critics may call the REACH scholarship a "pie in the sky" idea. But it already exists in a number of states. Since Georgia enacted its HOPE scholarship in 1993, more than 750,000 students have gone to college tuition-free. Many states have since followed suit and enacted similar programs, while Pennsylvania has stood still.

Helping middle- and lower- income families afford college isn't just the right thing to do, it's in our economic interest, too. The jobs of the future will increasingly require higher education. One of the first things employers look at when deciding where to locate is the talent pool of the local workforce.

As Rendell said in his address, "Pennsylvania's future economic viability depends on having a college-educated workforce prepared to lead in the high-skills global economy."

By helping to give the best and brightest a college education in our state, REACH will help create a stronger base of young profession- als that will encourage economic growth and combat the demographic crisis that threatens the state's long- term fiscal future.

Some will no doubt claim we can't afford a REACH program, but the governor has proposed one potential funding mechanism, and countless other states, such as Georgia, Florida, and New Mexico, have created others.

So the money is there. It's just a matter of priorities. As we have previously said, and as the governor said in his address, "We can't afford not to do it."



IN THE FOUR years since we first started advocating the REACH scholarship, we've been struck by how many parents in our districts have expressed the fear that their children will not be able to afford a college education.

Throughout our history, education has been the key to climbing the economic ladder and achieving the American Dream.

Giving parents the ability to honestly look their children in the eyes and say, "If you just work hard and achieve, then you can go to college" is in keeping with the spirit of that dream. *

Reps. Brendan F. Boyle and Tony Payton Jr., both Democrats, represent State House districts in Philadelphia.