NEW YORK -- Gov. Mario Cuomo Thursday signed legislation creating a unique program to assure all qualified students from poor families a college education, calling the measure an 'investment in our children.'
The Liberty Scholarship program, the first in the country to guarantee public financing for education beyond high school, will provide $90 million in aid for an estimated 90,000 students by the 1994-95 school year, officials said. The first scholarships are to be awarded in 1991-92.
'This investment in our children will be repaid many times over, in a better educated citizenry, skilled and eager to build New York's future,' Cuomo said as he signed the bill at his Manhattan office.
The program is expected to serve as a model for similar legislation in other states. On a recent trip to Washington, Cuomo said he found 'everybody wants the idea.'
The legislation provides state grants to make up the difference between existing student aid and the actual costs of tuition, housing, transportation and supplies for low-income students.
Funds will be available to students from families with annual incomes of up to $26,000 a year who attend either public or private colleges, officials said.
The idea of a guaranteed higher education was popularized by businessman and philanthropist Eugene Lang, whose 'I Have A Dream Foundation' has linked sponsors with thousands of inner-city youngsters.
'I can hardly believe this day has come,' Lang said. 'Rarely has anything so momentous been legislated in so short a time.'
In a thinly veiled barb at Joe Clark, the controversial Paterson, N.J., principal whose tough tactics have been championed by the Reagan administration, Lang added, 'After studying the dropout rates, I'm convinced you're never going to solve it with bullhorns and baseball bats.'
Cuomo first proposed the Liberty Scholarships in his January State of the State address.
Senate Minority Leader Manfred Ohrenstein called the measure's passage within six months 'truly miraculous.'
The bill also provides new funds for the state's Tuition Assistance Program, increasing to $4,125 the maximum grant available by the 1990-91 academic year. The amount is $1,275 more than currently available.
Cuomo said the bill survived despite a cool response from representatives of white middle-class counties who viewed it as a package benefiting only poor inner-city minorities.
'This is good for the whole community,' Cuomo said. 'Shame on you if you don't see your interest in everybody else's.'
New York City Schools Chancellor Richard Green said the program 'sets a tone for the rest of the nation. It's the best possible investment we can make.'