Dr. Shirley Reed, president of South Texas College. (File photo: RGG/Joey Gomez)

McALLEN, Feb. 3 - The Rio Grande Valley economy will be transformed in future years because of the investment the government is making in education now, says U.S. Rep. Rubén Hinojosa.

The Mercedes Democrat said the passage of HR 3221 has boosted the amount of money available for Pell Grants, which are crucial for thousands of Valley students who otherwise could not afford to go to college.

“Education Secretary Arne Duncan said HR 3221 is bigger than the GI Bill of 1944. It is a big, big, deal,” Hinojosa said.

“Anybody on low income or middle income, there is no reason for them not to be able to borrow money or apply for a Pell grant. Under the Bush administration the Pell Grants were limited to $4,000 a year. Right now it is at $5,500 and will continue to go up to $6,900 over the next seven years.”

Hinojosa made his comments in an exclusive interview with the Guardian following a recent speech to real estate professionals. As he chairs the House Subcommittee on Higher Education he was asked, during a question and answer session, to list his legislative accomplishments in this field. He spoke about the significance of HR 3221.

“What the bill means for the Valley in the future is a better trained workforce. When you have that, that is when the companies come,” he told the Guardian.

Dr. Shirley Reed, president of South Texas College, agreed.

“I can tell you that STC alone will be awarding almost $50 million in Pell Grants. The students will use that money to pay their tuition. The remainder goes into the economy because they need gas and groceries to go to school,” Reed said.

Reed said that in addition to the increased funding available, she also likes the fact that the application process has been streamlined. She said the benefits have already started to kick in. “You no longer need a doctorate in order to fill out the form. Students and families can finally understand the process. Before, filing out a financial aid form was probably five times harder than doing your Internal Revenue form,” Reed said.

The other development in education that can have a major long term impact on the Valley, Hinojosa said, is the formation of the South Texas Literacy Coalition and its work with Reading is Fundamental (RIF).

“When I would go abroad, I would learn all about other countries stressing the importance of early childhood reading. When you do that there is a much better chance of graduating because the child loves to read,” Hinojosa said.

After his fact-finding trips abroad, Hinojosa invited leaders with RIF to come down to the Valley and meet the various college presidents at Region 1 Educational Service Center in Edinburg.

“They saw the thirst there is in this in this area for this program. So, it started two years ago and we have tripled the number of children in RIF. Congress pays 75 percent for the books and we raised $150,000 at a fundraiser towards the match. It is really taking off but we need to keep it going for a minimum of ten years to really begin to see the 50 percent graduation rate go to 60 to 80 to 90,” Hinojosa said.

Reed agreed RIF could make a huge difference for the Valley’s long term prospects.

“If you can learn a love of reading it will carry you through school, it will carry you through college and the rest of your life. It is fundamental. It does not matter if you are focusing on the computer, you still have to read,” Reed said.

Hinojosa said the RIF program in the Valley got a boost when the Meadows Foundation agreed to contribute $150,000 for parental involvement.

Write Steve Taylor

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