GCS Superintendent Terry Grier keeps pushing his plan to provide two free years at GTCC for graduating high school seniors.
I liked High Point Mayor Becky Smothers’ diplomatic response:
Smothers said the number of Guilford County high school graduates taking remedial courses at GTCC concerns her. Three out of five GTCC students take remedial courses, Cameron said, with a small portion of those students graduating from high school the year before enrolling in the college. “I fully support it but only if they (students) are ready to do college-level courses,” Smothers said. “Until we are able to produce youngsters that are work and college ready, I don’t see spending more money to get what they should already have.”
In other words, Grier needs to make sure students are getting a proper high school education before he worries about sending them to college. Sound advice, right?
The other issue, generally addressed by Jacob Sullum, is the strong possibility that a huge government subsidy will drive up tuition for other students:
Different types of schools respond differently to increases in subsidies, and price hikes can take several forms, including cuts in state funding and internal aid as well as increases in the official tuition.
But the general effect is pretty clear: When someone else is paying part of the tab, consumers do not worry as much about the cost, so the cost tends to be higher. This phenomenon creates a vicious circle in which subsidies push up prices, leading to demands for increased subsidies, which push up prices again.
I didn’t see anything about the program being retoractive, so what about those who graduated from Guilford County Schools a year ago, two years ago, whatever, who’ve been out in the working world for a few years and want to attend GTCC to upgrade their employment skills? They’ll likely have to pay more in tuition, so where’s their subsidy?
