MARINETTE, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – The Menominee and Marinette (M&M) Community Foundation received nearly $200,000 and it will use that money to get local families thinking about college.
The foundation plans to provide kindergarten students in both cities with $50 dollars in college savings that will grow over time.
With tuition costs and college debt growing every year, the foundation says it’s important for families to start planning now.
When choosing a college there’s a lot to consider and the cost is at the top of the list for many.
“I always wanted to go to school but I thought this was the best option because it was cheaper than a four-year school,” said Blake Borski, a student at UW-Marinette.
Margaret Uecke tells FOX 11 that was the reason she chose UW-Marinette too.
“A lot of my friends went away and I know some that have loans but here I have no loans started.”
College tuition costs keep going up. Between 2005 and 2015 tuition rose by 5.1% at UW-Green Bay, which UW-Marinette is an extension of.
Most students plan to graduate in four years, but statistics show that’s not what’s happening. 68% of students who enrolled in UW-Green Bay in 2010 graduated in six years.
“I am paying for school with a lot of scholarships I have and my parents also started a fund for me,” said Uecke.
“My parents did have a plan for me but then it never panned out so I’ve just been working to pay for school,” said Borski.
Paula Gruszynski, with the Menominee and Marinette Community Foundation, tells FOX 11 they want to get students and parents thinking about college — in kindergarten.
The M& M community Foundation is starting an endowment for every kindergarten school in Menominee and Marinette.
“I think knowing that in kindergarten they need to start thinking about their future. It may convince them and their families and the people that care about them to start saving money more to figure out how to fund those education costs later on.”
But she says it’s about making it out of high school first.
“Research shows that if a child has and knows about a savings account between $1 and $500 they’re three times more likely to graduate from high school.”
Students can choose to use the savings to go to a college in-state or out of state, but they’ll have to wait four years after graduating high school to take it out.
The UW system has had a tuition freeze in place since the 2012 to 2013 school year.
The M&M community foundation hopes to raise $1 million for its endowment to give kindergartners a $50 savings indefinitely.
