2008 Woodie Awards
Oregon Opportunity Grant gets a boost in budget
Increased funding means 6,000 more students will be eligible for the Oregon Opportunity Grant
Jeffrey Sawyer
Issue date: 1/11/08 Section: Headlines
Students who come from lower or middle income families will now receive more money from the state due to the increased funding earmarked for the Oregon Opportunity Grant (OOG). The new funding will allow a greater volume of student eligibility than has been available in past years.
Starting in fall of 2008, the annual state commitment will be more than doubled, to just over $72 million dollars a year, up from $34 million this year. The funding for the grant was only $17 million just five years ago.
The OOG is a state and federally funded, need-based grant that awards students from low and middle income families financial aid. This year the cap for being eligible was a family of four with an income of $31,000. With the increased funding coming in this year, a student coming from a family of four, making up to $70,000 dollars a year, will now be eligible for help with their school expenses. This expansion also means, for the first time in the 37 year history of the grant, part-time students will not be excluded from eligibility.
Governor Ted Kulongoski hopes to provide for the extra funding in part by increasing the state's minimum corporate income tax. The corporate minimum income tax has not been raised since 1931. The governor stated that "The opportunity to afford a higher education has slipped away from too many young people in Oregon." Kulongoski also claimed in a press release that "In order to stay ahead, we need the best-educated, best trained, most-skilled workforce in the country. But, to accomplish this, we must again invest in Oregonians-and that begins with investing in their education."
Even with the OOG budget increasing, Oregon lags behind both Washington and California in providing need-based aid and is ranked only 28 on the national scale. During the 2005-06 school year the state of Oregon provided $223 (estimated to be near $400 during 2008-09 school year) per undergraduate student. During the same school year the State of Washington provided $695 per student (top five in the nation) and the State of California provided $514 per student.
Starting in fall of 2008, the annual state commitment will be more than doubled, to just over $72 million dollars a year, up from $34 million this year. The funding for the grant was only $17 million just five years ago.
The OOG is a state and federally funded, need-based grant that awards students from low and middle income families financial aid. This year the cap for being eligible was a family of four with an income of $31,000. With the increased funding coming in this year, a student coming from a family of four, making up to $70,000 dollars a year, will now be eligible for help with their school expenses. This expansion also means, for the first time in the 37 year history of the grant, part-time students will not be excluded from eligibility.
Governor Ted Kulongoski hopes to provide for the extra funding in part by increasing the state's minimum corporate income tax. The corporate minimum income tax has not been raised since 1931. The governor stated that "The opportunity to afford a higher education has slipped away from too many young people in Oregon." Kulongoski also claimed in a press release that "In order to stay ahead, we need the best-educated, best trained, most-skilled workforce in the country. But, to accomplish this, we must again invest in Oregonians-and that begins with investing in their education."
Even with the OOG budget increasing, Oregon lags behind both Washington and California in providing need-based aid and is ranked only 28 on the national scale. During the 2005-06 school year the state of Oregon provided $223 (estimated to be near $400 during 2008-09 school year) per undergraduate student. During the same school year the State of Washington provided $695 per student (top five in the nation) and the State of California provided $514 per student.
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