TAYLOR, Pa. — Governor Tom Wolf was in our area Thursday, pushing his plan to help save students from crushing student loan debt.
The governor met with students and parents at Riverside Junior/Senior High School in Taylor to explain more about his proposed budget plan to provide $200 million in scholarships for those attending state-run universities.
Gov. Wolf says the goal is to allow more students to graduate on time with less debt.
Pennsylvania student debt totals $68 billion. That's an average of $37,000 per student.
Tuesday, Gov. Wolf rolled out a proposed plan with a $204 million scholarship program. The state would pay some of the tuition for students at state-owned universities, but those students have to stay in Pennsylvania for the same number of years as their degree. If not, they have to pay it back.
"The way we benefit is if we can convince the kids we've invested in to repay that investment in Pennsylvania, and everybody seemed to be OK with that," said Gov. Wolf.
"It's just going to help everyone. Anybody that's going to a state school, that's huge and then maybe down the line more public institutions. I mean, this is huge," said Gavin, a Riverside senior.
"My original plan was to move after college, but if that means that I'm going to have to pay back little to no money whatsoever, I would definitely stay here. I think most kids would stay here," said junior Grace Spisso.
The governor says it's a win-win for Pennsylvania taxpayers in the long run.
"Keeping more of our kids here and better jobs, better-paying jobs and bringing more people here, more businesses here. Hopefully, it'll snowball," said parent Christine Giannone.