LANSING - State Representative Terry Brown (D-Pigeon) today voted for a plan to help more Michigan students afford to attend college by establishing tax breaks for groups who buy pre-paid tuition as donations through the Michigan Education Trust (MET) and enabling agencies or charities to set up scholarships through the Michigan Education Savings Program (MESP).
"There are a lot of good people who want to help more of our communities' kids attend college, and we need to do everything we can to make the most of that generosity," said Brown, who worked in Huron County schools for more than two decades before becoming a legislator. "Today's students need these educational opportunities in order to be able to compete for the best-paying jobs in the global economy. This plan is a great way to enable more working families to send their children to one of Michigan's wonderful community colleges or universities."
MET allows anyone to pre-purchase undergraduate tuition for a child living in Michigan for any Michigan public university or college. MESP is a tax-deferred college savings program. Currently, both the MET and MESP require a specific beneficiary to be designated. The plan passed by the House today allows individuals, agencies and nonprofit groups who buy an MET contract to receive a tax deduction without naming a beneficiary in advance and allows anyone who sets up an MESP account to defer designating a beneficiary. It now heads to the Senate.
Although groups and municipalities have expressed a desire to buy multiple MET contracts or set up blocs of MESP contracts - for children from a particular school or town, for example - these restrictions have discouraged such generosity.
"As tuition costs continue to rise, it's important to work together to keep college within reach for any Michigan resident who wants to make that dream a reality," said Brown, who is a member of the House Education Committee. "Making it easier for individuals and groups to help send local students to college will not only assist individual youngsters; it will also help build a talented workforce that will attract top-notch employers to our communities and create the good-paying jobs we need."