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Cuyahoga County to Start $100 College Savings Accounts for Every Kindergartener

Friday, November 30, 2012 at 6:20 PM

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Starting next year, Cuyahoga County plans to put $100 into savings accounts for all of its kindergarteners. It will be the biggest college-savings account program of its kind in the country. StateImpact Ohio’s Ida Lieszkovszky has this report.

The program will cover about 15,000 children in the county, costing an estimated $1.5 million for the first year, money that was saved when the county government was consolidated two years ago. Part of that consolidation was a mandate to create a county-wide scholarship system.

Cuyahoga County executive Ed FitzGerald acknowledges $100 won’t cover college tuition.

FITZGERALD: “It has the potential anyway of just changing the expectations of children.”

FitzGerald says he hopes parents, schools and community organizations will add to the savings accounts over time.

FITZGERALD: “It’s a very tangible way for them to envision what they’re future could be.”

It follows similar initiatives in San Francisco and Mississippi.

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