PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — New Jersey is providing $400 million in grants to colleges in the state, with the hope of keeping more high school graduates close to home.
Gov. Phil Murphy said New Jersey’s public school system is the best in the country, but too many high school graduates are picking colleges outside of the Garden State.
“We need to stop letting our high-achieving young people be one of our state’s greatest exports," Murphy said.
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He added that keeping the smartest Jersey kids in-state is important to economic growth, and he also wants high-performing students from outside New Jersey to attend college here as well.
“We need to make sure our campuses can compete at every level," he said.
Murphy said these grants will allow schools to apply for money needed to make upgrades and build state-of-the-art facilities without passing all the costs on to students and their families.
“Every dollar we provide at the state level is a dollar that does not have to be tacked on to a tuition bill," said Murphy.
Grant applications will start being accepted next spring.
