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Massena mayor, SUNY Potsdam president praise Gov. Cuomo's proposal for free state college tuition

Posted 1/3/17

Massena’s mayor and SUNY Potsdam’s president are praising Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s proposal to give free SUNY tuition to middle class families making less than $125,000 per year. The plan would …

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Massena mayor, SUNY Potsdam president praise Gov. Cuomo's proposal for free state college tuition

Posted

Massena’s mayor and SUNY Potsdam’s president are praising Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s proposal to give free SUNY tuition to middle class families making less than $125,000 per year.

The plan would apply to SUNY Canton and Potsdam colleges.

According to Cuomo the new initiative will be phased in over three years, beginning for New Yorkers making up to $100,000 annually in the fall of 2017, increasing to $110,000 in 2018, and reaching $125,000 in 2019.

“Making higher education available and affordable to middle class families is one of the best approaches to improving this state. The Governor knows this and with his leadership, New York can set an example for the rest of the nation by ensuring all New Yorkers have access to higher education,” Massena Mayor Tim Currier said in a Tuesday statement. “As a member of the SUNY College Council, I know the challenges many students face when it comes to making ends meet and being able to pursue higher education. This program will close the gap and allow those students to continue their education.”

When fully implemented, this program will cost $169,000,000, according to Currier. “That’s a bold, yet sound investment, in New York’s future. If there is one thing that could have the greatest impact on improving our future, in my view, it is education,” he said.

“I strongly support Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s transformative vision for making public higher education tuition-free for thousands of middle class New York families. This groundbreaking proposal has the potential to make the goal of earning a degree in any one of SUNY Potsdam’s 40-plus majors not only affordable, but achievable, for students and families from across the state,” SUNY Potsdam President Kristen Esterberg said.

Cuomo says New York’s tuition-free college degree program, the Excelsior Scholarship, is "the first of its kind in the nation and will help alleviate the crushing burden of student debt while enabling thousands of bright young students to realize their dream of higher education."

Cuomo says the Excelsior Scholarship program will ensure that students statewide, regardless of their socio-economic status, have the opportunity to receive a quality education and gain the skills they need to succeed in our global economy.

Assemblywoman Addie A.E. Jenne says she is very interested in a proposal the governor announced Tuesday morning calling for free tuition to SUNY and CUNY students whose families make less than $125,000 a year. Jenne recently switched back to her maiden name, but was previously known as Addie Russell.

"I am eager to learn more about the details in the governor's proposal. Affordable higher education is something I have fought hard to ensure North Country families can access." she said. "I have always supported funding SUNY appropriately and worked with my colleagues in the assembly to hold the line on tuition increases to help keep college affordable. An income limit of $125,000 per year has the potential to be a game changer for many North Country families that struggle with the affordability of higher education," she said.