LANSING – State Representative John Espinoza (D-Croswell) and State Representative-elect Terry Brown (D-Pigeon) today praised Governor Jennifer M. Granholm for signing the Michigan Promise Grant. The award grants Michigan students $4,000, up from the current $2,500, after completing two years of community college, university or vocational training. Students would be required to maintain a minimum grade point average of 2.5 to receive the award.
"The Michigan Promise Grant will open the doors to higher education to all of our students in the Thumb," said Espinoza, a former educator in the Carsonville-Port Sanilac School District. "Michigan is going to need a highly educated workforce to attract more businesses to our state and to help get our economy back on track. The Promise Grant will help our students prepare for the good-paying jobs of the future."
Lawmakers fought hard for years to strengthen the Merit Scholarship, which will now be known as the Michigan Promise Grant. In an April 2004 report, The Brookings Institution warned that America will not be able to hold on to the highest-paying jobs in the world if the number of college graduates with degrees in physical sciences, math and engineering continues on a downward trend.
The graduating class of 2007 will be the first group eligible for the Michigan Promise Grant. The grant will not prevent students from receiving other federal or state awards.
"Every student in Michigan should have the opportunity to go on to college," said Brown, principal of the Huron Learning Center. "As the cost of college increases, our students will need all the help they can get. The Michigan Promise Grant will make the dream of attending college a reality for many students."