The Galesburg City Council approved raising the hotel/motel tax last night to pay for an expansion of the Galesburg Promise scholarship program which will now include home school and private school students in District 205.
The program funds up to a full degree for some district graduates who go on to attend Carl Sandburg College.
Ahead of the decision, a number of students and community members offered their praise for the scholarship, including student Paulina Dickson.
“This town is based around education and I’m a physical representation of the success this scholarship brings,” Dickson said. “Making my way through Carl Sandburg College and being amongst (sic) the first generation of Galesburg Promise students, I finished with honors and I’m a part of Phi Theta Kappa’s Honor Society.”
Others like Sandburg nursing student Paul Fecht said the program has “skyrocketed Galesburg’s reputation. ” Community member Alexander Davis added that “investing in education” makes the area better.
Mayor John Pritchard said the program expansion should take effect in fall of 2017.
