Rep. O’Brien Proposes Eliminating Tuition As a Barrier To College
The earning power of college graduates versus those whose highest attainment is a high school diploma favors the former by a wide margin. In central Connecticut, it doesn’t really matter anymore if you want a job as an analyst at an insurance company or fill out an application at a small manufacturer to build parts on the shop floor. You will need post-secondary skills to fill decent paying jobs in our regional economy.
That’s what makes State Rep. Timothy O’Brien’s legislation to eliminate in-state tuition for students at UCONN, the state universities and the community colleges intriguing. So intriguing that O’Brien’s proposal has drawn considerable press coverage, including a February 21 story in the Meriden Record-Journal.
House Bill 5261 “will eliminate all tuition and fees for in-state residents” and proposes “that funding be increased to offset the costs” of eliminating in-state tuition at the public colleges and universities. While many would call the O’Brien idea unaffordable, the need to make college and post-secondary training opportunities available is broadly recognized as a key to retaining jobs and a stronger economy.
O'Brien's idea is not new. Free public education is an idea deeply rooted in the American egalitarian ideal. Once upon time California was a K-graduate school system without tuitions and fees. And last year MA Governor Duval Patrick, a business friendly Democrat, proposed a guarantee that the 12 community colleges in his state be open and tuition-free.
According to the Record Journal, O’Brien recognizes the current reliance on student tuition and fees to meet operating costs: “O’Brien’s bill would require students who did not pay tuition and fees for the duration of college to pay a fixed rate for a certain amount of time after they graduate, depending on their income. If they move out of state, however, the students would be required to pay back the full amount.”
Says O’Brien: “I introduced this legislation because I think that it is time that Connecticut start talking about the fact that high tuition and fees at our public institutions of higher education is a growing barrier to a college education for many people in our state, even if good financial aid is available for students.” O’Brien emphasizes that the bill is also an effort to stem a “brain drain” that will encourage young people to stay in Connecticut.
While O’Brien concedes that House Bill 5261 will likely go no where in a short legislative session. He knows it opens an important discussion on educational access and economic policy that will not end with the close of the General Assembly this year.
While O’Brien concedes that House Bill 5261 will likely go no where in a short legislative session. He knows it opens an important discussion on educational access and economic policy that will not end with the close of the General Assembly this year.
CT Obama Committee Plans Next Step: Pennsylvania
The Connecticut Obama Committee is mobilizing for the pivotal April 22nd Primary in Pennsylvania, by asking Connecticut supporters to call, canvass and campaign in Pennsylvania .
The “Pennsylvania Call to Action Rally’ will be held on Saturday March 15th at Yale University’s Afro-American Culture Center ,211 Park Street, New Haven, 10:30 - 12:00 p.m. Individuals will be organized according to their Congressional districts.
There is also every indication that the Obama forces are forming alliances and planning political action beyond 2008 on behalf of Democratic candidates. Says Obama Committee leader Lon Seidman: "Many of the new people we're meeting in 2008 will be there to make the difference in 2010 and 2012. The key to it all is keeping them connected and engaged locally. Many of the 2006 2nd district volunteers that made the difference in the closest race in the country started as supporters of a presidential candidate in 2004. The key to that continuity of involvement was recruitment, an introduction to fellow activists in the area, and a regular set of events and social opportunities to keep that level of engagement."
More information is available at http://www.ctobama.org/
In Memoriam: Betsy O’Neil, Democratic Party Activist
Betsy O’Neil, a teacher and former Democratic Town Chair of Farmington, passed away at her West Hartford home on March 6th. A devoted and lifelong Democratic Party activist, Betsy was perhaps best known to New Britain Democrats through her efforts on the campaigns of Toby Moffett and Bill Curry, among many others. Betsy received a state Democratic Party Leadership Award last fall and one of her nominators aptly summed up what it meant to campaign with her: “This high energy, high tension work has been done with a degree of humor, humility, integrity, kindness and joy which made everyone of her campaigns a pleasure for everyone in it.” New Britain Democrats extend condolences to Betsy’s sons and brothers, including her brother Dennis of AFSCME Council 4 who joined her and former BOE member Deidra Ierardi on dozens of local, state and national campaigns in the New Britain area. A funeral will be held Monday March 10, at 10 a.m. at the Church of Saint Patrick, Main Street in Farmington.
End Quote: A Hillary Clinton de facto endorsement of John McCain?
“More serious was Senator Clinton’s assertion that she was qualified to be commander in chief, and that John McCain had also “certainly” crossed that “threshold,” but that the jury was still out on Mr. Obama. In other words, if a choice on national security had to be made today between Senators Obama and McCain, voters — according to Mrs. Clinton’s logic — should choose Senator McCain. That is a low thing for a Democratic presidential candidate to do to a rival in a party primary. Can you imagine John McCain saying that Rudy Giuliani or Mitt Romney or even the guitar-strumming Mike Huckabee might be less qualified than Hillary Clinton to be commander in chief? It couldn’t happen.”
“Confronting the Kitchen Sink” by Bob Herbert, New York Times columnist, March 8, 2008
