Promise Scholarships Should Be Made Ongoing By Law

In the next few weeks, about 3,300 of Washington’s top high school graduates will receive a terrific boost from the state of Washington as they begin their college careers. They’re going to receive the Washington Promise Scholarship, a reward to help them attend college in Washington.

This is the second group of students to receive the Promise Scholarship, which provides a grant roughly equal to a year’s tuition at a community college. This program was a cornerstone of Gov. Gary Locke’s 2020 Commission on the Future of Post-Secondary Education in 1998 and it’s an important element of the Higher Education Coordinating Board’s 2000 Master Plan for Higher Education.

Last year, about 2,250 students from the top 10 percent of their public and private high school classes received a scholarship. Almost all will return to college this fall to receive their second and final award. More students will be winners in 2000, because the award now goes to the top 15 percent of graduates, as well as home-schooled students who attain high college entrance test scores. These scholarships - worth about $1,550 this year - are in addition to these students’ other scholarships or aid.

I think everyone who goes to college can still remember his or her personal experience. When I was growing up, my parents believed there was nothing more important than a good education. My mom and dad worked hard to provide for our family, and I was fortunate to be able to attend college. The education I received and the maturity I gained during my college years have paid tremendous dividends. As a founder of Costco Wholesale, I’ve put my education to use every day of my business career.

Unfortunately, not every Washington student - not even high achievers - has the resources it takes to pay for a college education. That’s especially true for families of modest means. For that reason, Locke initiated the Promise Scholarship to help middle- and low-income Washington families send their academically successful high school students to college here in the Evergreen State.

This scholarship is a unique education tool for our state. About two-thirds of the award winners come from middle-income families that often have to take out large college loans because they earn too much to get income-based grants. For the remaining students, the Promise Scholarship supplements other assistance and makes all the difference in their ability to attend college. Because it emphasizes academic merit, the scholarship supports the economic, racial and ethnic diversity of our education system without so-called special treatment for anyone.

For the past two years, the governor and Legislature put money into the state budget for Promise Scholarships. Thanks to their leadership, the program is growing.

That’s the good news. Unfortunately, these scholarships are far from guaranteed in future years. Budget programs don’t necessarily continue from year to year. That’s why the governor, the Higher Education Coordinating Board and representatives of Washington students will ask the 2001 Legislature to guarantee - by writing a new state law - that the scholarships will become a permanent part of our state’s college opportunity package.

With the new school year just ahead, it’s not too soon for current high school students and their families to start thinking about the Washington Promise Scholarship program. And it’s certainly not too early for candidates for statewide office and the Washington Legislature to put a plank in their platforms in support of permanent establishment of the Washington Promise Scholarship in state law.

Information about the program is available at high schools all over the state and through the Higher Education Coordinating Board’s web site at www.hecb.wa.gov.