Ritter's Promise

Without a doubt, the single most popular question students are asked as they wrap up their high school careers is "where are you going to college?" The question most of them are asking themselves, however, is "how am I going to pay for college?"

True, there's more than $130 billion in financial aid available to students nationwide, but with the annual cost of higher education increasing 35% between 2000 and 2006, and the average Pell grant decreasing, more and more students are wondering how they'll make ends meet when they head off to Real Life University.

Here in Colorado, tuition and fees for public, four-year universities have risen 5% in one year, far faster than the rate of personal income, consumer prices, or even health insurance. And finally, someone is doing something about it. Or trying to, anyway.

Colorado Governor Bill Ritter is backing a ballot initiative asking voters to end property-tax deductions for the oil and gas industry, which would result in more than $200 million in increased revenue statewide. With 60% of this money earmarked for a fund called The Colorado Promise Scholarship, more than 2/3 of Colorado students would be eligible for a scholarship that could decrease the cost of tuition dramatically.

Despite the fact that oil and gas companies are enjoying record profits, there is a very real and legitimate concern about what the elimination of this tax-deduction would do to energy prices which have been rising steadily month after month, year after year.

In this uncertain economy, one thing is for sure: More and more students are going to college each year, and college is getting more and more expensive. So how are you going to set yourself apart?