A group called Opportunity Maine has a good idea in the form of a proposal to build a citizen’s initiative to highlight the importance of going to college. Whether its specific proposal – a tax credit to repay tuition costs for those who remain in Maine after graduating – is the best way to improve this part of Maine life can be determined during the campaign. For now, it’s enough that the group is taking its idea on the road.

The campaign begins with an undeniable set of facts: Maine has a college-degree rate significantly lower than the region’s average. College degrees are crucial to expanding the knowledge economy that Maine must participate in to thrive. Even after all the scholarships, grants and other discounts, tuition costs are one important reason that more students do not begin or complete their college degrees and may not be able to afford to stay in Maine upon graduation.

The citizen’s initiative is designed to reward college graduates – associate or bachelor’s degree – for working and staying in Maine after graduation. The group plans to gather all of its signatures in the next several months, and along the way describe the economic benefits of raising the number of college graduates in Maine – for starters, they point out the 2004 median additional income for a four-year degree over a high-school diploma was $14,880; for an individual with an associate’s degree, $8,928. It also argues that the idea could help workers who need job re-training but are worried about the cost.

According to economic analyses performed for Opportunity Maine, the public cost of the tuition tax credit would be more than equaled by added tax revenues from higher incomes in just four years, and the entire program could quickly become a net gain for state and local government. In addition, having more college graduates available to work would attract more businesses to the state, increasing opportunity for all residents.

Most states have college-loan forgiveness programs – gubernatorial candidate Barbara Merrill, for instance, is advocating that Maine adopt an Indiana plan begun there in 1990, in which seventh- and eighth-graders sign a pledge that starts them and their families on a path to college in exchange for eight semesters of tuition at state-university prices. Whether the Opportunity Maine program or one similar to Indiana’s or something else is the best choice for sharply increasing the number of college graduates remains to be seen.

But one way to find out is to look at the citizen’s initiative as an informational campaign, one that should involve the public, educators and economists to compare the many options available to Maine. The only way to have that campaign is to support Opportunity Maine as it gathers signatures and discusses the benefits of Maine spending more money

Through the early 19th century, police would toss debtors into the local gulag for failing to make repayments. Though “debtors’ prisons” are now long gone, college students in Maine say the crushing debt for education is the fiscal equivalent of wrist shackles and leg irons.

Freeing students from financial bondage is the goal of Opportunity Maine, which seeks to put an educational tax credit question before state voters. In short, the program would reimburse tuition and fees for attending Maine’s public colleges through tax credits if the student stays, and works, in Maine.

The initiative was announced Tuesday at L-A College.

Organizers say the program, with an estimated $3.4 million upfront cost, would return $30 million in 10 years, through the economic contributions of college-educated employees retained by the tax credits. These projections seem ambitious, and require scrutiny if the question makes the ballot.

The University of Maine this week also said it would ask for an additional $36 million from the state for a similar reason; Chancellor Terrence MacTaggart said the money would fund faculty raises and freeze tuition. The aim is to plug the “brain drain,” he said, and keep talented high-schoolers in Maine for college.

One program to alleviate debt, one program to prevent it. Both deserve support, as evidenced by Maine’s wretched record of college costs.

This month, Maine again earned an “F” in college affordability from the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, its fourth flunking grade since 2000.

Maine has fared poorly in other studies as well. Teachers who are public college graduates in Maine, for example, spend 39 percent of “discretionary” income to repay student loans, a national study said in April. Private college graduates pay 55 percent. Both are nearly double the national averages, and mountainous hurdles for attracting, or keeping, qualified teachers.

Susan Gendron, commissioner of Maine’s Department of Education, told the Sun Journal recently that college costs are a national issue. She is correct, as 42 other states also failed college affordability in the study released this month. This quandary leaves room for creative, bold initiatives like Opportunity Maine to combat this dangerous trend.

And tax credits are common public policy, especially in economic development. Gov. John Baldacci’s Pine Tree Zone program, as an example, is basically a package of tax credits on payroll and personal property taxes for companies that invest in an eligible region.

If businesses can reap tax credits for investing in Maine, so should college students. The state’s economy relies on both, a point accurately conveyed by Opportunity Maine.

“We see this as, first and foremost, as economic development through education,” said Rob Brown, campaign director for Opportunity Maine.

Solutions to making higher education more affordable in Maine must be found. High school and college graduates are leaving for better opportunities elsewhere. Opportunity Maine seems to be a creative response for the future, while the additional funds for the University of Maine will ensure the quality of education available today.

Plugging the brain drain carries benefits for all Mainers, not just those in university classrooms.

With all the hand-wringing about keeping our young adults here in the state, the degree of their engagement in the political process is cause for hope.

Maine’s young people, ages 18 to 29, were fifth in the nation in the 2004 election with an impressive 59 percent voter turnout, The Associated Press reports. This is according to a study done by the University of Maryland’s Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE). Maine’s youth voter turn-out is always higher than the national average, too.

What’s more, on Monday, student leaders from Maine colleges an-nounced they have formed a political action committee called Opportunity Maine to spearhead an unprecedented ballot initiative that will help them stay in Maine after they graduate.

Opportunity Maine supporters will gather more than 60,000 signatures to put a referendum question in the November 2007 election. It proposes to offer students a tax credit equal to their student loans.

To qualify, students attending a Maine community college or university would have to stay and work in Maine upon graduation. Another option under the law would be for employers to pay their employees’ student loans and claim the tax credit for their businesses.

A key reason Maine college graduates must look out of state for employment is the increasing cost of education and resulting burden of student loans. Add that to the cost of living, and their hands are tied.

Opportunity Maine has submitted legislation titled “An Act to Create Jobs by Expanding Educational Opportunity for Maine People,” having garnered support “from hundreds of students and business and labor leaders in every region of Maine.”

“By making education more affordable for students and laid-off workers, Maine will entice the type of industry that is critical to a sustainable economy,” said Andrew Bossie, student body president at the University of Southern Maine and president of Opportunity Maine, in a press release.

We commend these young people for taking matters into their owns hands and trying to solve one of the state’s most vexing concerns.

By JERRY HARKAVY

PORTLAND — A student-led group Tuesday announced a campaign to initiate legislation that would provide state income tax credits to offset student loans to graduates of Maine colleges or universities who stay and work in the state.

Opportunity Maine said it will soon begin to gather the roughly 50,500 voter signatures needed to place the question on the statewide referendum ballot in November 2007.

Backers of the initiative said it would help Mainers meet the rising costs of higher education and enhance the state’s economic prospects by enabling more graduates to work in their home state.

“I have spoken to so many other students who are struggling with the increasing cost of education and who have to look out of state for a job that can help them pay their student loans — even if they want to say and work in Maine,” said Andrew Bossie, president of the University of Southern Maine student body and president of Opportunity Maine.

The proposal was detailed at a news conference at Lewiston-Auburn College.

The amount eligible for tax credits would be capped at the cost of tuition and fees for the University of Maine System or the Maine Community College System. Thus, credits for graduates of Maine’s more expensive private colleges may cover only a portion of their loans. Under the proposal, employers would have the option of paying the student loans of an employee and taking the tax credit for their business.

While programs elsewhere have been targeted at specific occupations such as teachers, nurses and doctors, campaign director Rob Brown said “no other state is doing anything nearly this universal.”

Nearly half of all college graduates in Maine leave the state after they get their degrees, Brown said, and one of the primary reasons is the inability to land a job that provides a high enough salary to pay off student loans.

Opportunity Maine made an informal presentation to the University of Maine System trustees last weekend, and the chancellor and trustees were interested, said John Diamond, university system spokesman.

A formal presentation will be made in November or January, at which time trustees will consider endorsing the proposal.

“The idea of expanding education and affordability is something that the board is wanting to do with its own agenda. That’s why they’d like to get more information about the specifics of the students’ proposal before they take a formal stand,” Diamond said.

The initiative, which has drawn support from labor unions and chambers of commerce, was rooted in discussions among student leaders that began last November, Brown said.

They decided to bypass the Legislature and launch a petition campaign in order to promote sustained public debate on the issue, he said. Because an educated work force is a key element in economic development, he suggested that the discussion could prompt businesses to look at Maine as a potential site to locate or expand their operations.

Other measures to provide financial help with student loans have gone before the Legislature but either died in committee or on the floor, or were passed but did not receive funding, he said.

Opportunity Maine has projected that its proposal would generate more than $80 million in increased tax revenue and spillover economic benefits by the 10th year. Annual costs to the state would run several million dollars during each of the first few years, but there would be a net gain as more people enter the work force, the group said.

The group projected that the legislation would enable an additional 25,500 Mainers to earn degrees over the 10 years, boosting their earnings by an average of at least 15 percent. “By making education affordable to students and laid-off workers, Maine will entice the type of industry that is critical to a sustainable economy,” Bossie said.

Organizers planned to seek 1,200 volunteers, including students, parents and teachers, to gather signatures at polling places on Nov. 7.

PORTLAND – A student-led group Tuesday announced a campaign to initiate legislation that would provide state income tax credits to offset student loans to graduates of Maine colleges or universities who stay and work in the state.

Opportunity Maine said it will soon begin to gather the roughly 50,500 voter signatures needed to place the question on the statewide referendum ballot in November 2007.

Backers of the initiative said it would help Mainers meet the rising costs of higher education and enhance the state’s economic prospects by enabling more graduates to work in their home state.

“I have spoken to so many other students who are struggling with the increasing cost of education and who have to look out of state for a job that can help them pay their student loans – even if they want to say and work in Maine,” said Andrew Bossie, president of the University of Southern Maine student body and president of Opportunity Maine.

The proposal was detailed at a news conference at Lewiston-Auburn College.

The amount eligible for tax credits would be capped at the cost of tuition and fees for the University of Maine System or the Maine Community College System. Thus, credits for graduates of Maine’s more expensive private colleges may cover only a portion of their loans.

Under the proposal, employers would have the option of paying the student loans of an employee and taking the tax credit for their business.

While programs elsewhere have been targeted at specific occupations such as teachers, nurses and doctors, campaign director Rob Brown said “no other state is doing anything nearly this universal.”

Nearly half of all college graduates in Maine leave the state after they get their degrees, Brown said, and one of the primary reasons is the inability to land a job that provides a high enough salary to pay off student loans.

Opportunity Maine made an informal presentation to the University of Maine System trustees last weekend, and the chancellor and trustees were interested, said John Diamond, university system spokesman.

A formal presentation will be made in November or January, at which time trustees will consider endorsing the proposal.

“The idea of expanding education and affordability is something that the board is wanting to do with its own agenda. That’s why they’d like to get more information about the specifics of the students’ proposal before they take a formal stand,” Diamond said.

The initiative, which has drawn support from labor unions and chambers of commerce, was rooted in discussions among student leaders that began last November, Brown said.

They decided to bypass the Legislature and launch a petition campaign in order to promote sustained public debate on the issue, he said. Because an educated work force is a key element in economic development, he suggested that the discussion could prompt businesses to look at Maine as a potential site to locate or expand their operations.

Other measures to provide financial help with student loans have gone before the Legislature but either died in committee or on the floor, or were passed but did not receive funding, he said.

Opportunity Maine has projected that its proposal would generate more than $80 million in increased tax revenue and spillover economic benefits by the 10th year. Annual costs to the state would run several million dollars during each of the first few years, but there would be a net gain as more people enter the work force, the group said.

The group projected that the legislation would enable an additional 25,500 Mainers to earn degrees over the 10 years, boosting their earnings by an average of at least 15 percent.

“By making education affordable to students and laid-off workers, Maine will entice the type of industry that is critical to a sustainable economy,” Bossie said.

Organizers planned to seek 1,200 volunteers, including students, parents and teachers, to gather signatures at polling places on Nov. 7.