Shared from the 1/19/2017 The Providence Journal eEdition

FREE TUITION

Governor stumps for plan

Cranston East students applaud the proposal, but Mayor Fung is critical

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Gov. Gina Raimondo greets Cranston East students as she leaves the rally after talking about her free tuition plan for those residents who attend the state’s colleges or university. THE PROVIDENCE JOURNAL / BOB BREIDENBACH PHOTOS

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Cranston East students react as Gov. Gina Raimondo announces her tuition-free plan.

CRANSTON — Gov. Gina Raimondo brought her proposal to provide free tuition to students attending Rhode Island’s public colleges to a cheering crowd of juniors, seniors and faculty at Cranston High School E a s t o n W e d n e s d a y . Another critic of the plan, meanwhile, raised q u e s t i o n s a b o u t i t s affordability.

“College isn’t easy,” Raimondo said to a full Cranston East auditorium. “The hardest part shouldn’t be paying for it.”

The governor said her Promise Scholarship proposal would not only make college more affordable but also help graduates win better-paying jobs and thus be a “ticket to the middle class.”

“The world today is changing,” she said. “The economy today is totally different than when I was a kid.” With the transformation of manufacturing in Rhode Island, more than a high-school education, once sufficient for a factory job, is needed to compete in the modern job market, she said.

Raimondo will include her plan in the budget she submits on Thursday to the General Assembly. It would waive mandatory fees and provide free tuition for two years for Rhode Island students in good standing at the Community College of Rhode Island, Rhode Island College and the University of Rhode Island.

The governor received a standing ovation for the proposal during Tuesday’s State of the State address, echoing other local and national praise for the plan since it was announced over the weekend. But Promise Scholarship has also drawn criticism, including sharply from House Minority leader Patricia Morgan, who on Tuesday said it would not stop young people ages 25 to 45 from leaving Rhode Island.

Cranston Mayor Allan W. Fung on Wednesday joined in the criticism, expressing his concern that “the cost of the program as presented thus far will be financially unsustainable,” according to a media release.

“The state is starting this year with a more than $100-million structural deficit,” Fung said. “The state has told pensioners we can’t afford their COLAs. The state has told truckers that there is no other way to repair our roads than to institute tolls. We have moral obligations to keep our promises beyond a political season. And I’m concerned that this might be another one that comes up short.”

He added: “I would love to see all students attend state schools for free, but at the end of the day someone needs to balance the checkbook.”

Joining the governor on stage at Cranston East were members of the city’s School Committee and Council, State Education Commissioner Ken Wagner, and members of the General Assembly, including state Sen. Joshua Miller, whose district includes parts of Cranston and Providence.

“Talk to your parents about this,” the governor told the students. “Call your legislators.”

Raimondo’s proposal would be phased in over several years, reaching an annual cost of $30 million in the 2021 fiscal year, when the Promise S c h o l a r s h i p p r o g r a m would be fully opera-t i o n a l . T o d a y ’ s h i g h school seniors would be college seniors then.

Should the General Assembly approve Raimondo’s plan, Rhode Island would join a number of states including Georgia, Tennessee and Oregon that provide some degree of free tuition for residents. New York is likely to join the group in its 2017 legislative session.

—gwmiller@ providence-journal.com

(401) 277-7380

On Twitter: @

GWayneMiller

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