By guest blogger Ohio Policy & Research Intern Matt Walsh
In case you missed it, the Buckeye State (finally!) has a FY2010-2011 budget (see our analysis here ).?? The 3,120 page document, known as Am. Sub. H.B. 1, has been scrutinized by pundits throughout the state, including Terry Ryan in yesterday's Education Gadfly . Little noticed in this new law is a provision championed by State Senator Stephen Buehrer (R-Fulton County), which is known as "Grants for Grads."?? This program applies only to graduates of Ohio's colleges or graduates from Ohio who return and would give cash grants to these citizens who buy an Ohio home and stay in it for at least five years.??Back in June, Fordham released "Losing Ohio's Future ," a survey of college students that mentioned Mr. Buehrer's program and found that 60 percent of those surveyed would be interested in cash grants for a down payment on a home as an incentive to live in Ohio after graduation.?? The Cleveland Plain Dealer , The Columbus Dispatch , and The Toledo Blade have all reported on the link between "Grants for Grads" and "Losing Ohio's Future."??While we are glad to see thoughtful and effective??programs geared at stopping Ohio's "brain drain," it is unfortunate that??Ohio Board of Regents Chancellor Eric Fingerhut 's bi-partisan-supported internship program was completely cut out of the final document, as "Losing Ohio's Future" also??demonstrated a large??interest in??internships as a way to introduce students to the communities outside their colleges and, hopefully, entice them to live and work there after graduation.