WTOP – Governor Northam announced this week that his budget proposal will include $145 million for what he is calling the “Get Skilled. Get a Job. Give Back” initiative, or “G3.”
“This investment will increase access by offering last dollar funding to eligible students to pay for tuition fees and textbooks,” Northam said during a news conference Thursday.
The program will help students studying for careers in areas such as skilled trades, health care, technology and early childhood education pay for the expenses that come with going to school, he said.
“There are thousands of jobs out there, and they don’t necessarily require a four-year college education,” Northam added.
He hopes helping students study in high-demand fields will help businesses in the commonwealth fill job vacancies.
Full details on how the program would work would be presented during the introduction of his budget proposal next week, Northam said. He did say lower-income students who receive federal Pell grants could get up to $1,000 a semester to cover the costs of school, plus things such as transportation and child care.
For students to continue getting the help, they will be required to keep their grades up and complete two hours of work experience, community service or public service for every credit hour enrolled.
Not every lawmaker is on board with the proposal, though.
Among those critical of the plan is Republican Del. Mark Cole, who represents Virginia’s 88th District, which includes parts of Fauquier, Spotsylvania and Stafford counties.
“Sounds a little bit like maybe indentured servitude for community college tuition,” said Cole, who is on the Virginia House Education Committee.
Cole said while he believes Northam is focused on the right fields of study, he is concerned the program will be too expensive. “Nothing is free. Somebody somewhere is footing the bill for it,” Cole said.
He believes the state’s 23 community colleges already offer the best higher education value for students, and that a better way to help would be to offer discounts on courses in high-demand fields.
Lawmakers have to sign off on Northam’s proposal, and Cole believes with Democrats taking control of state government next year, support for the plan will be there.
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I don’t know folks. I don’t know about you, but I’ve gotten very tired of hearing about programs like this. I really am. I want everyone to have the same opportunity. I want everyone to enjoy the bounties of America and the wonderful lives we can attain here. What I don’t understand is why don’t we truly make it the same opportunity for everyone. If the governor wants to have a different cost for education at Community College, then create a different cost schedule at the college for students and the families. We have all been told and taught (well, many of us have been ) that we are all equal, and should all have the same opportunity. We are all supposed to be treated the same, and our government is supposed to lead the way in insuring that is always the case. Yet here we are on the cusp of 2020 and our fearless leader wants to set up a program that separates students and has some pay differently than others. Some pay less and some pay more. I just think it’s flat out wrong from the jump. Student A and student B should have the opportunity to get the same education if they want it. If student A is a different race or color or religion from student B they are supposed to all have the same opportunity, w/o prejudice. EXCELLENT. Yet here we have a program that is about to be proposed that is coming with prejudice. Financial prejudice.
Anybody can slice it and dice it any way they want. It is what it is and I don’t like it. It is prejudice pure and simple. One student or family should not pay more or less than the other. Keeping one family from the program because they have more money is a prejudice just as much as keeping someone out because of race, creed or color. Hey, what do you think of this idea ? Let’s charge student A more because they have a collie instead of a german shepherd. Brilliant, no ? Programs like this divide us. What they also do is create more jobs that support that prejudice, a whole new gov. dept. to run the program, and therefore make the community college more expensive. Doesn’t it ? Can the program idea. Lower the expense to make it affordable to all. In the long run all expenses level out, and lo and behold we all start to be treated the same AND MAYBE ACT LIKE IT. When a program is initiated on an incorrect foundation it will never attain that which it aspires.
If we are going to have free tuition for community college we should also have free tuition for vocational technical education. CDL and heavy equipment training, etc.
We the taxpayers are paying for this “free” tuition. The give back for students….2 hours of “work experience, community service or public service?” Semester hours are typically 16 hours for a 16 or 18 week term. That’s 2 hours of work per week! Are you kidding? Work study at college is 5 to 10 hours per week for far less tuition credit.
How about having businesses sponsor students to work during the day and study at night?
We have to stop allowing folks to preach the bigotry.of low expectations.
One of the best things we can do for the uninformed is to stop using the term “Free”, whether for healthcare or college.
From my experience when you point out that these programs aren’t free, that some one else is paying, the recipients just shrug their shoulders.
However, it is possible that you may spark a tiny flame in them that smoulders for years until they get out in the work force and the light comes on when they get a load of their tax burden.
Typical, Liberal, Wet Dream…