A Higher-Ed Calling: Middle-class need college aid, too
June 9, 2008
About every place you turn these days, someone in Texas is preaching that the state needs to graduate more students from college. We're going to be honest, though. No amount of bellyaching will matter if middle-class Texans can't afford college. And, yes, we mean middle class.
Written by Editorial, Dallas Morning News
About every place you turn these days, someone in Texas is preaching that the state needs to graduate more students from college. We've certainly done our share of the hand wringing, with the state's economy increasingly depending on a creative scientific class. We're going to be honest, though. No amount of bellyaching will matter if middle-class Texans can't afford college. And, yes, we mean middle class. The state doesn't do enough when it comes to financial aid, but what help it does offer is largely aimed at families with annual incomes under about $40,000. We're all in favor of helping families of more limited means. But the middle class also needs a hand. Interestingly, a new report by a group of mostly Texas Democratic legislators makes the same point. To fix the situation, Houston Democratic Rep. Garnet Coleman and other members of the House's Legislative Study Group want a new "merit-based" fund that would benefit Texans regardless of their economic status. We agree. And we encourage the several other committees working on higher-education issues before the 2009 Legislature begins to embrace the same goal. That includes the influential House education panel led by Dallas Republican Dan Branch. Legislators can argue next year about the particulars of a middle-class aid program. Perhaps the answer is targeting the existing B-On Time financial aid program to middle-class Texans. We don't have the precise answer, but here's what we do know: It's not right when families where one spouse is a firefighter and the other is a teacher scramble night and day to send their child to college. We're not advocating a free ride, but a shared commitment between the state and families. The Legislature should have funds to do this next year, too. Although the budget surplus may not be enormous, we should have enough of one to benefit the middle class hoping to send their children to a state college. That certainly is fair since they pay a big share of the state's taxes. Top financial aid programs in Texas Texas GRANT The Texas Legislature established the TEXAS (Towards Excellence, Access and Success) Grant to make sure well-prepared high school graduates with financial need could go to college. B-On Time It provides eligible Texas students no-interest loans to attend colleges and universities in Texas. If the student meets specified goals, the entire loan amount can be forgiven upon graduation. Tuition Equalization Grant Program
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