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Governor taking revenue fight to college campuses

By Rick Pluta, Michigan Public Radio Network

http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wkar/local-wkar-871228.mp3

LANSING, MI – Governor Granholm will begin a tour of college campuses later this week. She is urging students to pressure legislative Republicans to support funding for the Michigan Promise scholarship.

The tobacco settlement money that used to fund the scholarships was diverted to fill budget holes over the objections of Governor Granholm and other Democrats.

The governor has been trying without success to get Senate Republicans to consider other revenue options to restore the scholarships.

She announced her campus tour in a radio address.

"This year, 96,000 students and their parents banked on the Michigan Promise. They budgeted for the money promised to help them pay for school," Granholm said in the address.

The governor says scrapping the scholarship also damages economic turnaround efforts focused on ensuring an educated workforce that's attractive to employers.

Senate Republicans say the state simply cannot afford to give a $4000 scholarship to every student.

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