Prepaid tuition turning tense [jeb and charlie strike again]

[Sancho]

TALLAHASSEE - The pitch is simple, the allure for families understandable.

Pay for college starting when your child is in diapers or grade school, with a state-guaranteed plan that lets you lock in today's prices.

Clearwater's Tim George and his wife, Pam, bought a Florida Prepaid tuition plan for their baby boy in 1992, joining tens of thousands of families and helping it become the nation's largest prepaid plan.

The Georges paid about $5,000 up front to lock in four years at one of the state's 11 public universities. Today's tuition costs $2,300 a year, or $9,240 for a four-year degree, not including fees.

Yet two decades into Florida Prepaid, tens of millions in budget cuts to the state's 11 public universities and 28 community colleges have some families questioning their investment choice.

Universities are warning of widespread faculty layoffs and enrollment cuts of as many as 17,000 seats in the next few years, which will make it harder than ever for students to get accepted and could weaken already-strained academic programs.

Tim George wonders, what good is Florida Prepaid's lock on tuition if his now-16-year-old son can't get into the school he wants, or if he gets there and finds the quality of education is declining?

http://www.sptimes.com/2008/03/02/news_pf/State/Prepaid_tuition_turni.shtml