LANSING – State Representatives Pam Byrnes (D-Lyndon Township) and Rebekah Warren (D-Ann Arbor) today threw their support behind Michigan college students at a rally at the State Capitol to save the Michigan Promise Scholarship. The scholarship, which has made college affordable and accessible for nearly 100,000 Michigan families, is in danger of being eliminated due to budget cuts proposed by the Senate.
"Eliminating this scholarship will slam the door on higher education for tens of thousands of students who depend on it to pay for college," Byrnes said. "Cutting this program and abandoning the education of a generation of kids is unconscionable and will hurt Michigan greatly down the road. Businesses and job providers will not come to communities that lack a highly skilled workforce. With the economic crisis we face, we need to invest in education to attract as many jobs to Michigan as possible."
The Michigan Promise Scholarship awards Michigan students with a total of $4,000 after they complete two years of community college, university or vocational training with a grade point average of 2.5 or higher. Nearly 100,000 students rely on the Promise Scholarship every year.
Today's rally included students from universities around the state, lawmakers and residents who understand how important education is to Michigan's future.
"Investing in education is an investment in our future, and the Promise Scholarship continues to help thousands of families fulfill their dreams of a college education," Warren said. "A quality education is absolutely vital to competing for the high-tech jobs in emerging industries such as alternative energy and advanced batteries. In these difficult economic times, we have an even greater responsibility to help our young people get the skills they need to compete for those good-paying jobs. Cutting the Promise Scholarship is completely counterproductive and unacceptable – I will continue to fight to save this vital program."