There is a Southern Oregon group that has come together to put forward to our State Legislature a proposal called the Oregon Promise Statewide Scholarship Program that will pull this State's rankings of number of students achieving high school diplomas, technical college certifications, Associate and Bachelor Degrees up form its present levels. Southern Oregon Center for Community Partnerships is the group moving their ambitious $127.9 million per year program to help solve the problem of dropping attendance in our colleges and universities stemming from the steadily increasing costs Oregon students and their families need to pay for their higher education that they are finding prohibitive. State Representative Peter Buckley of Ashland Oregon will carry the idea to the Oregon State Legislation in 2009.

The theory behind this proposed plan is that the higher state income taxes generated by these successful graduates' higher annual incomes - higher incomes to the tune of $9,000 per year for an associate's degree and $19,000 per year for a bachelor's plus - creating tax revenue that will offset the program's expenses. Lisa Hill wrote about a similar program they have in Florida, the Florida Bright Futures scholarship program, although their program is funded by Lottery Funds. This got me thinking that rather than relocate to Florida or one of the many other States offering similar programs, maybe Oregon has a similar program for when our youngest is ready to head to college? Lo and behold, this month Southern Oregon Center for Community Partnerships, an offshoot of the Rogue Valley Council of Governments, put forth their proposal.

So, Oregonians, here is your call to action! Keep an eye out on the progress of this Bill, and call your State Representatives to garner support for increasing the level of higher education we need to continue to attract high caliber businesses and those higher paying jobs to our beautiful state.

See you out there!

Karen Cooper - OR/CA Mortgage Consultant - www.Quality4Loans.com