Thursday, December 10, 2009

Granholm: "We didn't have to rob students'













Governor blasts Michigan Senate for cutting Promise Scholarship from state budget


By Katrease Stafford
During a conference call with collegiate reporters on Nov.12, Gov. Granholm discussed the importance of finding a way to get the Promise Scholarship back in the state’s budget.

The scholarship was eliminated from the state’s budget on Oct. 30.

The Promise Scholarship was merit based and it provided up to $4,000 for students.

In total, 96,000 students were affected by the scholarship being cut.

The financial aid department at Eastern Michigan University expected between 2,200 and 2,400 students to receive the scholarship for the academic year of 2009-10.

Gov. Granholm believes that the scholarship did not have to be cut completely from the budget.

“Our administration developed the Promise Scholarship,” Granholm said. “We’ve had tough budgets and tough cuts before, but this time the legislature really blew it. We did not have to rob students of a promise and jeopardize Michigan’s future.”

The governor hopes to use the Earned Income Tax Credit to pay for the scholarship. The EITC is a refundable tax credit aimed at low-income workers.

“We can pay for the [scholarship] by slowing the phase-in of the Earned Income Tax Credit,” Granholm said. “That’s one way we can pay for it, and the senate has already identified it as an acceptable form of revenue.”

The governor believes that using some of the funds that are currently allocated for the EITC would fully cover the cost of the scholarship. According to the governor, the Promise Scholarship costs approximately $100 million and the EITC costs $160 million.

“The reason why this form of revenue would work is because I would propose that there be an increase in the tax credit from 10 percent to 12.5 percent,” Granholm said. “There will be an increase in the money that goes into the pockets of working families and we could also save the Promise Scholarship.”

“There certainly isn’t a consensus between the governor and the legislature about priorities,” Granholm said. “I believe we must invest in education. The Senate believed it was more important to cut than provide the funding to protect education from being deeply cut.”

“We need students to know that this fight is on,” Granholm said, “and we can win it. If the students disagree with the Senate, this is an opportunity to exercise their voices in a democracy and tell their legislators that that’s not what they hired them for.”

The governor believes the scholarship affects the number of college graduates who remain in state, which can have a significant impact on the economy.

“The Michigan Promise is critical to our goal of doubling the number of college graduates in Michigan,” Granholm said. “That is the key part of the plan to diversify and to grow Michigan’s economy.”

Gov. Granholm discussed a technology company, Liquid Web, that plans to hire people and how the scholarship cuts could affect that hiring in Michigan.

“They are concerned that if education funding is cut they won’t be able to hire the skilled workforce, and they would have to go outside of Michigan,” Granholm explained.

“We must be providing the employees of the future. It is so critical to our economic future.”
Granholm commended universities such as Saginaw Valley State and Michigan State that have decided to provide their students with funds to cover what was lost by the scholarship being cut.

“The universities that have made that decision are doing that out of tremendous leadership and benevolence,” Granholm said, “but ultimately it is the state’s commitment.

If we don’t do this, the universities end up taking the money out of some other place where it was needed.”

Some students believe the state is not doing enough to help students pay for college. DeMarque Spence, a professional biochemistry major, was a recipient of the scholarship.

“I don’t think the state has contributed enough for college kids’ funds,” Spence said. “With the Promise Scholarship gone, that’s a big slap in the face for the recipients because the state is not keeping its promise.”

Others place blame squarely on Granholm’s shoulders.

Chris McKelvie, a social studies major and Iraq War veteran, said he is disappointed in Granholm, and has plans to move out of Michigan.

“Eight years is enough for her to do something,” McKelvie said. “Michigan is going downhill in my opinion and once I graduate, I’m gone. She’s failed Michigan, she’s failed veterans, she’s failed all
of us.”


Granholm comes to EMU to talk scholarship woes


Nov 23, Governor Jennifer Granholm addressed the packed Student Center Ballroom regarding the loss of the Michigan Promise Scholarship.

She began by discussing the economic crisis that Michigan is currently in. Granholm said, “In the middle of this crisis is opportunity and you all have this amazing opportunity to help build the next Michigan.”

Granholm told the audience that Michigan’s economy needs to transition away from its automotive industry roots, toward a new means of revenue generation.

“This is a structural change in the state of Michigan. The old ways of Michigan are gone. This [automotive industry] has been our proud way for the past 100 years,” Granholm said.

The governor believes the transition is dependent upon the number of college graduates working in the state.

“States that have the lowest unemployment rate are the states with the highest skilled workers. Our strategy in Michigan is to double the number of college grads in Michigan. If we double the number, then we will be the most educated state,” Granholm said.

The governor discussed the importance of creating new types of jobs and how it involves education. “While we want to hang on to the jobs we’ve got, we’ve got to introduce a new sector. When we went to Hyundai and Toyota, they wanted to know what our education sector looked like,” Granholm said.

The governor plans to focus on six sectors. These sectors are: advanced manufacturing, life sciences and medical devices, homeland security and defense, tourism, and film. The governor believes alternative energy technology will be especially beneficial for Michigan.

“Alternative energy will be a sweet spot for Michigan”, she said.

Gov. Granholm stressed the significance of education and how it will be useful during the transition to new markets, declaring, “21st century jobs require 21st century minds.”

The governor wanted students and parents to know she believes the scholarship can be reinstated if people are willing to fight for it. “I want to fight and I want to fight alongside you.

Let’s build together the next Michigan,” Granholm said.

Student Body President, Regina Royan, hopes that progress can be made with events such as this.

“I think this past week with the governor going to a lot of the different public universities has caused quite a stir,” Royan said.

State Rep. Alma Wheeler Smith (D-Salem) believes the State Senate should not have cut the scholarship. “Their priorities are askewed,” Smith said.

Smith disagrees with Granholm’s plan to use the Earned Income Tax Credit to cover the costs of the scholarship.

“Why would I balance this on the backs of the very families who need this money. I don’t agree with this approach, it’s an easy fix. We need something permanent. We would be robbing poor Peter to pay poor Paul,” Smith said.

Smith believes raising taxes could improve the situation. Smith said, “We need more revenue, without those additional dollars, it won’t happen. You can only trim so much before you’re cutting vital things. There is a time for an expense on the citizens and this is it.”

Several students who were affected by the loss of the scholarship let the governor hear their
stories.

Nate Root, a junior at the University of Michigan, was affected by the loss of the Promise Scholarship. “I’m having to work almost 20 hours a week now as a full-time student. This has led me to drop a class which has left me academically behind,” Root said.

Emily Gillingham, a freshman at EMU, had to take a loan out to cover the cost. “The loss of the Michigan Promise is just going to mean more loans for me over the course of my time at Eastern,” Gillingham said.

Gillingham is disappointed in the Michigan Legislature and said, “The Michigan Legislature’s betrayal of our trust and apparent unwillingness to support our future is akin to approval of the degeneration and decay of Michigan.”

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