Douglas proposes scholarships to keep young people in state

MONTPELIER, Vt. --To keep young people from leaving the state, the governor has proposed giving out more than 12,000 scholarships to Vermont colleges to students who agree to stay in the state for at least three years after they graduate.

The 15-year, $175 million Vermont Promise Scholarship program would be paid by an increase in funds from the settlement with the tobacco industry.

If approved by the Legislature, the scholarships would be available to students who will be high school seniors this fall.

"Vermont has more colleges per capita than any other state. Still, sadly, Vermont leads the nation in the percentage of high school graduates who leave their state to go to college and who, for the most part, will not make Vermont their home again in the course of their working lives," Gov. James Douglas said in his state of the state address last week.

To reduce that exodus, about 300 four-year scholarships would be available to the University of Vermont and 420 two- and four-year scholarships to the Vermont State Colleges each year. The scholarships, which would be based on a mix of merit and need to be determined by the schools, would reduce tuition by between 25 and 50 percent.

The Vermont Student Assistance Corp., which helps Vermont students pay for college, would give out another 300 scholarships of up to $5,000 per year to any student who attends a public and private college or university in the state. The VSAC scholarships would be awarded solely based on financial need.

In exchange, the students would be expected to stay in Vermont for at least three years after they graduate or pay back half of the scholarship. There are no requirements about employment.

"We think it's visionary of the governor," UVM President Daniel Fogel said Tuesday. "It represents really long-term comprehensive thinking about the future of the state. We see it not so much as an investment in education, but an investment in economic development."

The program is part of the governor's focus on addressing the state's changing demographics and making the state a more affordable place to live and work. According to the governor's office, the state faces a number of demographic challenges, including that:

-- Vermont has the highest percentage of high school graduates who leave the state to go to college;

-- Vermont has the nation's lowest birthrate;

-- The school age population is dropping more sharply than elsewhere in the nation;

-- In the last decade, the population of 20 to 34 year olds fell by 15 percent;

-- In the next decade, the number of high school seniors is expected to drop from 7,000 to 5,000;

-- By 2030, Vermont's working age population (ages 21 to 64) will be smaller than it is today;

-- By 2030, the population of people 65 and above will more than double.

"To be able to have employees for Vermont companies we're really going have to increase the number of Vermonters who go to college and the number of people who stay in the state," said Bob Clarke, chancellor of Vermont State Colleges.

The scholarships will not only help to create a future work force but will boost the number of Vermont high school graduates who go to college, he said. Statistics show only 34 percent of Vermont's ninth graders will be enrolled in college four years later, Clarke said Tuesday.

"I feel we need to increase the number of Vermonters that go to college," he said. "It's important for Vermonters to earn a livable wage."

Fogel said the scholarships would fit into UVM's plan to increase its undergraduate population.

In addition to the scholarships, the governor wants to invest $3 million divided evenly among UVM, the state colleges and VSAC, to help the institutions train students and develop jobs in innovative sustainable industries.

Douglas is pleased with support for the program he's received from the Legislature, his spokesman Jason Gibbs said Tuesday.

But at least one legislator isn't happy with how the scholarships would be funded.

Sen. Susan Bartlett, D-Lamoille, said the governor is using money from the tobacco settlement that she believes should be used to pay current programs, such as any shortfalls in the Medicaid program.

"I'm not at all opposed to the cause," she said of the scholarships. "However ... it's interesting to me that the governor has a theme of affordability but here he is starting new programs. When you want to talk about affordability, you need to pay for programs you currently have."

Bartlett said she would propose a smaller scholarship program funded through another way in the coming weeks.