Posted: Tuesday, December 8, 2009

   PUYALLUP, WA - Word is getting out about a remarkable guarantee Washington State is making to foster children, welfare kids, and other low income 7th and 8th graders.  The promise is this: If you stay in school and stay out of trouble, the state will provide a four year scholarship to college.  More than forty-three thousand students have signed up for that deal and counting.  However, there's possible trouble on the horizon.  The Washington Legislature hasn’t set aside much money to cover its mounting obligation. Correspondent Tom Banse reports.

Ferucci Junior High student Donovan Fuselier is only in the 9th grade, but he already knows he’s college bound.

Donovan Fuselier: “I want to be someone that my little cousins and little brother look up to. My mother and my father, they work really hard. They never went to college. So I want to show them that they came out with something good. I can be something when I grow up.”

Donovan is one of 43-thousand students to stake a claim on a four year scholarship to any accredited college or university in Washington. He signed up for a relatively new and increasingly popular program called the College Bound Scholarship.

Donovan Fuselier: “Like before, I wasn’t doing good in school. But since this happened, I’ve seen the opportunity. So I’m working real hard to keep my grades up.”

This is the deal. Qualifying students have to sign up by the end of eighth grade. They pledge to graduate from high school with at least a C average. They also pledge to stay out of trouble with the law. In return, Washington state promises four years of in-state college tuition. The scholarship covers whatever remains due after subtracting normal financial aid. College admission standards still have to be met and the scholarship goes away if the student’s family rises out of poverty.

The deal sounded so good to administrators at Ferucci Junior High, they went to great lengths to make sure every eligible student at their school signed up. Steve Leifson even called procrastinators into the principal’s office.

Steve Leifson: “It’s a fantastic opportunity. Yeah, if kids are into this cycle of poverty or disadvantage somehow with family history or whatever, this is one way that we can break that.”

Washington State copied its college guarantee from similar programs in Indiana and Oklahoma. There are also examples of private philanthropists who promise college scholarships to every graduate of an adopted school. In Oregon, Philomath high school had a timber baron benefactor for about 40 years.

Washington’s Legislature approved its program in 2007. That year, state budget writers made their first and so far only deposit into a savings account to cover future tuition bills. Democratic State Senator Phil Rockefeller concedes there’s no permanent funding for the scholarship.  

Phil Rockefeller: “Ultimately, we’re going to have to say to the citizens, if these are services that you want, we have to find a way to pay for them. That includes you and me and everybody else. So we’re going to have a conversation with our citizens over the next months and years I think.”

Coincidentally, a recent episode of NBC’s sitcom “The Office” foreshadowed the worst case outcome. On TV, bumbling boss Michael Scott promised college scholarships to some inner city kids, and didn’t come through.

Sound [tv show clip]: “I will not be able to pay for anybody’s tuition... I’m so sorry.” [commotion starts]

The possibility of letting kids down like that weighs on the mind of Republican representative Glenn Anderson. He’s inclined to be sympathetic, but...   

Glenn Anderson: “Realistically with the finances, the legislature, A) didn’t keep the original commitment. It certainly cannot keep the commitment now with the nature of the state’s budget deficit. That’s the problem. We’ve made so many—quote – ‘good promises.’ And a lot are going to get broken. This looks like it will be one of them.”

Anderson says further sign-ups for the scholarship should be suspended until the state gets on firmer financial footing.

Meanwhile, students and counselors operate on the assumption that a promise is a promise. Again, assistant principal Steve Leifson in Puyallup.

Steve Leifson: “We have to be hopeful. This is the way out for a lot of our kids. This is their ticket. To be anything less than hopeful I think is cheating our kids and is putting a negative expectation on the state.”

The first college tuition bills Washington has promised to cover come due in two-and-a-half years. The state says the money’s there for the freshman class in 2012. After that, it gets dicey. I’m

Copyright 2009 Northwest News Network

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Washington College Bound Scholarship Program

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