Mar 23, 2007 - 04:11:46 CDT
The state House broke the "North Dakota Promise" on Thursday, voting to kill a plan that would have provided free college tuition to high school students.Opponents of the measure said it was an overly costly way to provide a benefit for too few students.
As proposed, the plan would have provided full-tuition, in-state scholarships to students who attended school in North Dakota from kindergarten on and 65 percent tuition scholarships to those who attended from ninth grade on. The students would have had to take four years of math and science in high school and get at least a 23 on the ACT - slightly above North Dakota's 21.7 average for this national achievement test.
According to the state Department of Public Instruction, 30 percent of high school students would have been eligible.
The Promise's sponsor, Sen. Tony Grindberg, R-Fargo, said it could bring families to North Dakota and provide a well-educated work force to help the state compete in a global information economy.
Inspired by the landmark Kalamazoo Promise, a program in which private donors pledged to pay the college tuition of students in a struggling southwest Michigan city, he called it "a big idea that has the potential to make a big change in North Dakota."
Educational leaders and economic development officials lined up behind him.
James Dahlen, vice president of business development at the Bismarck-Mandan Development Association, said it could help change a long-running assumption that says young North Dakotans have better opportunities elsewhere than at home.
"I believe this bill will begin to fundamentally change the attitudes of our parents and our kids," Dahlen said.
Dr. Lee Vickers, president of Dickinson State University, said it would "raise the bar for all of our students."
But the proposal came with a hefty price tag - $25 million over the next two years and another $20 million every year after that.
Earlier in the session, when balancing the budget wasn't as large a concern, the state Senate approved the measure by wide margins. But this month, the House Education Committee put a "do not pass" recommendation on the bill, and both Democrats and Republicans in the House lined up to kill it.
House Minority Leader Merle Boucher, D-Rolette, said he voted against the measure because he felt it spent too much money to benefit too few students. Boucher, a former teacher, said he wanted to see scholarship programs that helped all of North Dakota's students - not just the 30 percent that would qualify for the Promise.
"I think the problem is that this was just too exclusive," he said.
Rep. John Wall, R-Wahpeton, said it would be unfair for the parents of kids who didn't meet the requirements to be subsidizing families with kids that did.
"If I'm paying tuition for my own child and then I have to pay taxes to support tuition for other people's children, that's not fair," Wall said.
Wall, who's also a former teacher, said he also disagreed with placing more importance on math and science than other subjects. The state needs a balanced work force, he said.
But for Grindberg, the bill's sponsor, the math and science requirements were key. He said the point was to emphasize the skills that are critical to many information economy jobs. Also, the coursework and ACT requirements would have challenged students to do better in school and pick up more of these critical skills, he said.
Grindberg's thinking mirrors a body of economic research arguing that the era of "smokestack chasing" - though tax incentives, utility rates, low wages, etc. - is no longer a viable method of economic development.
Among the most cited works in this area is "The Rise of the Creative Class," a 2002 bestseller by economist Richard Florida.
Florida argues that the economic development battles of the 21st century will be won or lost based on an area's ability to attract an educated, creative work force to meet the needs of a knowledge-driven economy. In this game, factors such as strong research universities and desirable nightlife trump factors such as a state's wage and tax laws.
Grindberg fears the failure of his bill could lead North Dakota to fall behind other states that are offering similar education incentives.
Georgia, Michigan, West Virginia and Wyoming offer full or partial tuition scholarships funded by state taxpayers. With strong state budgets across the nation, others are considering it this year.
Grindberg said the $540 million budget surplus here in North Dakota made it a great time to propose big ideas for the state's future. He said he didn't know yet whether he'd propose the scholarship program next session, but expressed optimism that something similar could be in the state's future.
"If you look at the history, new ideas, especially bigger ones, take a few years to mature," Grindberg said.
(Reach reporter Jonathan Rivoli at 223-8482 or jonathan.rivoli@;bismarcktribune.com.)
Undicided wrote on Mar 24, 2007 3:06 AM:
:) wrote on Mar 23, 2007 8:04 PM:
Rebecca wrote on Mar 23, 2007 4:01 PM:
Here's a promise wrote on Mar 23, 2007 2:51 PM:
To Rebecca wrote on Mar 23, 2007 2:18 PM:
Glad it was shot down! wrote on Mar 23, 2007 12:48 PM:
Leaving North Dakota! wrote on Mar 23, 2007 11:52 AM:
Rebecca wrote on Mar 23, 2007 11:43 AM:
:) wrote on Mar 23, 2007 11:39 AM:
Impressed wrote on Mar 23, 2007 8:27 AM:
Alleluja!!! wrote on Mar 23, 2007 7:59 AM:
Comments are reviewed for taste, tone and language before posting.
Some comments may be used in the Tribune's print edition.
We value and respect your privacy, but The Bismarck Tribune might
disclose certain information to governmental entities if served with subpoena.