. I
)
a
CapiUUNews SeMce
LANSING - For 0 e chief­
tain imp ementing the program,
Michip.n Educatio Trust ".
.. ' the m Signifi inven­
tion in . er education since
the invention of the sc olar-
. II
p.
. On the other hand, th who
are le enthused ith the
guaranteed tuition program are .
bracing for Ie s desir b e
�evelopments they fear lie
ahead '
"It t e the natiOD y
storm and cap ured the imagina­
tion 0 the education com­
munity, politicans and the
general public all over 'the
country," an enthusi stic
Richard Cole, president of
MET,s 'd.
Rep. Judith Miller, R-Sir­
mingbam, said that the state has
DO business interfering . th the
practices of banks in the private
sector when it comes to invest­
ment , especially hen the
Department of Education
been "saapping" for money.
"t4r. Bowman (state
treasurer) ys ha\'e ellough
oney to bail this thing out,"
iller said. "This' bull."
Yet, despite the cxjsting con­
troversy, the MET will begin
receiving pplicatio clime
in the beginning of May for ODe­
week" open windo period and
then on a first-come-first-serve
basl State Tre urer Robert
Bowman said.
The plan fi proposed
in Gov. James Blanchard's 1986
State of the Stale ddress under
the title ·BEST (Baccalaureate
Education System Trust) but
w consequently changed at the
req ue t of the SeD te
Republicans 0 claimed they
didn't Ii e the name, Robert
Kolt, treasury po Clpel'5Oll,
ide
MET i a trust hereby a
parent or grandparent guaran­
tees a child's 4-year in-state tuti­
ion to any Dublic colle�e or
univer ity, including Michigan'
29 community colleges, for as
long it takes the student to
complete the credits DCCCS81)
for an undergraduate degree. ,
The cost will be fixed and
predetermined, running bout
$6,400 for a newborn and $8,800
for an l8-year old. For every
year in between it's a matter of I
dding S62, said.
It' theD up to parent or
andpareDt to �er
to a lump payment or pay
thro monthly in tallments
begiDniDg anytime after the
birth of the child, he . d.
The MET board decided to
include the tax on the amoUnt of
intere earned and include it
within the fixed cost. By adopt­
ing the beneficiary's tax rate the
ate relieves him or her of the
tedius paperWork� in turn the
ensures a greater number of ap­
plicants, Bowman said.
He said that the program is
flexible because it doesn't re­
quire a parent of child to choose
a chool until he or she h
reached college
But there are some hi ches.
If child decides D to t­
tend college after the money has
been in eel, only some of it
will be returned and if a child
decides to go out of state it be­
comes the obligation of the
parent to pay the dditional tuti-
tion costs, Co . d.
But on the po itive ide,
should the parent be unable to
complete payment of the trust,
the money alre dy invested
ould go "to ard the amount
credits earned.
"Parents won't start a
program unle they � are com­
mitted to their kid's education,"
cole said. IIIf they get involved in
something about it," said MMA
President John J"hodis.
The MA advocate'
me ures including the estab­
lishment of mandatory gradua­
tion standards, the eli.iN .
ef tenure to eed out un-
qualified teacbcl'l, . pay for
uperior teaebe and the in-
. u io of a core cwricul
Thodi said the ate h
stro financial commit-
n to publi edu OD.
'1 . that we haYe seee the
lqisJature in foUr or
fiw year take a Yety serious
100 settiDg K-12 ed
tion properly fuDded,- be . d.
Spending per for K-
12 educatio ina-cued 79
percent during the la t five
years, accordiDI to atate
Departmeat of EducatioD
fJlUlcs.
ButThodis .
.p
ra
it, kids will grow up knowing that
they ire going to college."
Ron Roo , Director of the
Dep rtment of Education s
management services, said that
although the program is pretty
hard to argue with, there are
some risks invobed,
It' , difficult to estimate what
tutition, rate of return on invest­
ment and the rate of inflation is
go. to be like 10 years down
the road, he said hich could
lead to increasing the cost of in­
\Uting in the trust each year.
"But the governor and the
tate treaurer ha reasssured
can dminister the
program and for that reason I
thiDk the public interest indi­
cates that it is a fairly desirable
program," Root · d,
Jolm Bet vice president and
marketing director of Capitol ..
Federal S vings, said that he
finds the dvantage of investing
in the tru t in tead of with
private bank i that with a .
private entity there is no guaran- .
tee that the principle plus-inter­
est will be enough to cover a col­
lege tuition.
"I would love to say 'put your
money here and invest in a col­
lege education," Berg said. "I
think the benefit to MET is the
rd -guarantee."
On the other hand, Rep. Lad
St �y, R-Berrien Springs, said
that he would be more in favor
of the trust if the cost hadn't
g�ne ay over hat was
projected two years ago. He was
also discouraged that boo and
room and board were not in­
cluded.
"I'm a grandfather and I think
h neat it would be to fund my I
grandchildren's tuition, but at
my age I'm not looking to pay
monthly installments, - he said.
There is another feeling that
the MET will compete with
private banks because they do
gad
as
concern is what the money will
buy. "
'The debate would be over
account bility and qu lity,
rather than over ho much
money we're going to pend," he
·d.
Legi lator are debating
Ho and Senate versio of a
school finance reform bill to in­
crease money for satewide
educa . funding. bu Thodis
id such a plan is 10 er in.
priority than other recommeD-
datioDs. .
Department of Education'
spokes aD Ned Hubbelsaid
that to ome extent, staDd­
ardized te scores contradict
percepti br out by
the MMA 'urvey. The Dumber
of student passing annual
Mi· Educational Assess-
Pr08l' tests has grown
by 20 percent over the nine
.1
a
me nt, Nye said that he will need
to see some definite figures.
Accordin .ro the board,
these figures are being dis­
cussed now and will be d ided
upon before this Thur day
It seems that a decision by the
senate majority to change the
name of the trus all the op­
po ers to the' MET needed in
order to approve it, a treasury
spokesperson said.
0, despite the controver ial
air surrounding Michigan's law­
makers the MET program will
begin in early May,
There's no need not to
remain optimistic, Root said. "In
the long run mo e tudents �
stay in-state inste d of going
outside for higher education."
not have tuition programs, ac­
cording to Rep. Michael Nye, R­
Litchfield.
"It is an erea that has been
created by the private sector," he
said, "but my thoughts are that
we should push private busi­
nesses into doing it instead of
government. "
Nyc said that he wants to see
some gu rantee that the
program is going to work. The
questions whether it will be
financially sound and affordable
by the common person or if it is
just catering to the more af- I
fluent.· "I
In order to tate a valid
prospectus on the MET to
hether it is going to be better
than making a" private invest-
years, Hubbel id,
"These scores have been
" steadily ching up," Hubbell
said "I Y there has been a sig­
nificant gain."
But some improvements ug­
gested by the MMA are �eady
under consideration by the
Legislature, Hubbell dded.
-A lot of these things are aJ­
ready in the hopper: he said.
"11le idea of a core curriculum
has been endorsed by the
Department of Education, and
minimum competency exam is
n being develeoped,".
B the te i limited in i
ability to make chanacs in its
4,� public schools. Hubbell
d, ieee most control over
ed tio . left to local dis-
tridI.
LOCAL CO OL KEY
-There has al ay' 6een
.strong sentiment in Michigan
that curriculum is to be deter­
mined locally," Hubbell said.
Under an amendment to the
state constitution, any education
progr ms mandated by the
Legislature must also be funded
by the state.
Hubbell said legis) tor are
"very careful not to be in viola­
tion ofthat."
In its overall effort to improve
employability of worker , the
state h implemented several
job training progr under the
Job Partnership Training Act,
Hubbell said. "
One program specifically
" geared to imprming the caliber
of young job ee en i the
Michigan Youth Corps, which .
administered by the Depart­
ment of Labor and operated
through five te departmen .
Continued 'on P 10