STUDENTS SPEAK IN FAVOR OF CENTENNIAL SCHOLARS PROGRAM

Photos: 1 | 2 (thumbnails, captions)

By JEREMY THOMAS
Cronkite News Service

PHOENIX (Wednesday, April 9) _ Just 14, Carolyn Fry already has her sights on a career in interior design after she graduates high school in 2012. She plans to join the Navy to raise money before heading to college.

“My parents don’t make a lot of money,” said Fry, an eighth-grader at Bullhead City Junior High School. “My dad graduated the same year as I was born, and he’s still paying off his loans. I don’t want to have that problem.”

Fry and three fellow classmates addressed the Senate Higher Education Committee on Wednesday to register their support for a bill that would create a Centennial Scholars Program.

The program would provide free college tuition to Arizona high school students who need the help and who get good grades, perform community service and stay out of trouble. It would begin in 2012, when Arizona marks its centennial.

Sen. Tom O’Halleran, R-Sedona, chairman of the Higher Education Committee, is pushing the measure through a strike-through amendment to another bill, HB 2211, sponsored by Rep. Jennifer Burns, R-Avra Valley. The committee approved his amendment and endorsed the bill 4-1.

“We have a dropout problem,” O”Halleran said. “We have to incentivize people to stay in school. It’s a definite investment in the future. If you’re concerned about the youth of society then this is a way to get them involved.”

Four Bullhead City students, joined by Mike McClurg, their social studies teacher, addressed the committee, saying the program would give hope to students who otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford college.

“Before I heard about this there wasn’t much motivation,” said Nick Nelson, 15. “Something like this gets kids to think about college because it’s in sight now instead of being hard to get.”

Gov. Janet Napolitano proposed a Centennial Scholars program in her State of the State Address. Rep. Andy Tobin, R-Paulden, introduced a bill, HB 2739, that would have created a program similar to that proposed by the governor, but it didn’t reach committee.

As amended by O’Halleran, HB 2211 would require participants to sign a contract pledging to maintain at least a “B” average, steer clear of criminal activity, alcohol and drugs and perform at least 100 hours of community service during high school.

Burns, who spoke in favor of the amendment, said an estimated 6,100 students would qualify for free tuition, which would be worth $28 million a year.

Sen. Linda Gray, R-Phoenix, voted against the bill, saying it lacked dedicated funding, and O’Halleran said the bill faces an uncertain future because of the state’s budget deficit.

Napolitano had suggested that the Centennial Program continue indefinitely, but O’Halleran’s amendment calls for the program to sunset in 2018.

Tobin said he doesn’t support the current bill because it doesn’t have clear funding.

“We have to give schools the tools, but there’s no clear indication of how much this is going to cost the state,” Tobin said. “We need to focus on math and science requirements. This bill jumps the gun without solving the problems.”

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CAPTION FOR BC-CNS-CENTENNIAL SCHOLARS: Emma Maraontes, 13, an eighth-grader at Bullhead City Junior High School, talks Wednesday outside the Arizona State Capitol after speaking in support of a bill that would create a Centennial Scholars program proposed by Gov. Janet Napolitano. The bill would provide free tuition beginning in 2012, the state’s centennial, to those high schoolers who maintain at least a B average. (Cronkite News Service Photo/Jeremy Thomas)

CAPTION FOR BC-CNS-CENTENNIAL SCHOLARS: Carolyn Fry, 14, an eighth-grader at Bullhead City Junior High School, talks Wednesday outside the Arizona State Capitol after speaking in support of a bill that would create a Centennial Scholars program proposed by Gov. Janet Napolitano. The bill would provide free tuition beginning in 2012, the state’s centennial, to those high schoolers who maintain at least a B average. (Cronkite News Service Photo/Jeremy Thomas)