Scouts
As an Eagle
Scout, Brian is a proud member of the scouting community. He
is also an advocate for scouts, and has worked to improve the
program and its relationship with the government. Brian
supported efforts in Annapolis to create a college scholarship for
Eagle scouts.
Brian
and volunteers finish his Eagle Project at Susquehanna
While the initial
effort failed, Brian rewrote the legislation to better benefit the
scouts and to clarify the law. You may read
selections of the testimony and letters Brian wrote here, and may
see the text of the bill on our Platforms page. Happy
Scouting!
I am writing to urge you to support
House Bill 296- Higher Education - Tuition Exemption - Eagle Scouts
and Girl Scout Gold Award Recipients.
Scouting is a terrific movement that I
am proud to be a part of. It teaches much more than the values of the law, oath, motto,
and slogan. Scouting teaches young boys
and girls to become citizens of America that respect one another,
participate in democracy, and value life.
Scouting is about education.
Scouts learn about their world, gain experience in varied fields,
and become leaders—all the while building a unique character as they
grow.
HB 296 is also about education.
It is about forming a partnership between Education, Scouting, and
Maryland—a partnership that would attract some of Maryland’s finest
citizens, young men and women, to in-state schools. It would increase the
likelihood of the finest of Scouts, the finest of citizens, making
their careers and lives in our great state. Maryland could only benefit
from such a partnership.
The trail to Eagle or Gold is a long
and involved journey. To attain these high ranks, boys and girls will have learned
lessons, attained values, and developed character that Maryland has
always sought to promote. Attaining the peak of the
trail is a meritorious accomplishment in the life of a young man or
woman, worthy of reward.
Scouting is about opportunity.
Boys and girls from diverse backgrounds may become Scouts. Scouting is a gateway to accomplishment in Maryland’s cities,
suburbs, rural, African-American, Caucasian, Latino, Asian, (and
many more) communities. Branches of Scouting even
include those practicing Christianity, Buddhism, Muslim, and other
religions.
Maryland should also be about opportunity- opportunity for young men
and women who have displayed such promise by devoting themselves to
self-improvement and community action to continue to do so.
Scouts
pledge “to help other people at all times.” Please help the Scouts—and
Maryland—by voting
FOR
HB 296.
Happy Scouting,
__________________________
HB 296 Testimony Outline from Brian Young, Eagle Scout, Troop 777,
Harford County:
-The
fiscal note for this bill indicates that by FY 2010, this bill could
award $10.4 million in tuition to meritorious Scouts. To put this in the proper
perspective, using the fiscal notes provided by Legislative
Services, the FY2010 tuition intake would be 1,414 million dollars
(FY 2004 was $842 million, FY 2005 projected is 918 million, for a
yearly increase of 1.09%).
This means that 7/10 of 1 percent (0.73%) of tuition intake
could reasonably be utilized to help educate some of Maryland’s
finest citizens at state universities.
-Rewarding
Scouts for their dedication to self-improvement, citizenship, and
service would not only benefit individuals, but the state as a
whole. By keeping individuals who
tend to serve the community, and who are trained as leaders, in
state, civic action and community service projects would increase.
The good deeds, leadership, and community service hours these Scouts
will put back into their community will make this bill pay for
itself.
-Merit-based
scholarships benefit Maryland by rewarding hard work and dedication
to self-improvement.
-Scouting
is an excellent program and tradition in America that gives young
people a chance to grow in a safe learning environment. Modern society places a
great deal of stress on our youth—stress that can be added to by
life on the street. Gang violence is on the rise
in Maryland, even (allegedly) resulting in a shooting death in my
native Harford County. In the first two months of
the 2004-2005 school year, there were 65 fires in Baltimore City
schools (Washington Times). With these, and other,
difficulties plaguing our youth, Scouting can be a chance to grow in
a safe environment.
-Scouting
gets kids off the street and teaches them about character,
self-improvement, citizenship, service, and leadership. It also gives them material
education in hundreds of different fields. The Boy Scouts of America
offers over 100 merit badges alone, each of which can teach a young
man a valuable skill that could be developed into a life-long
career.
-HB
296 would raise awareness of the opportunities Scouting provides to
young men and women.
And it would enable our most troubled youth not only a chance to
learn in Scouting, but to excel in college.
-Many
students would be able to acquire an Associates or Bachelors degree
that otherwise could not do so. While a Scout would still have to meet the requisites to be
accepted to a school, this bill creates the opportunity to pay for
further education by earning it. Even students who have
difficulties learning in stressful and disastrous school
environments would have a way to learn and excel.
-Please
support our youth, Scouting, and Maryland by voting FOR HB
296.
__________________________
Testimony of
Brian Young, Eagle Scout and Assistant Scoutmaster, Troop 777
Harford
February 8, 2005 –
MD House Appropriations Committee
This is a very rough recollection of the testimony; it was
given ad hoc and there was no substantive written preparation
beforehand.
Thank
you Mr. Chairman, Honorable members of the committee. I would like to thank you
for hearing this bill today; the scouts that are here today have
learned a lot just from being here. In fact, if everyone who is
here to support scouting could stand for a brief moment to show
their support. We would have even more
Friends of Scouting here today if the time hadn’t conflicted with
school schedules and so many other things. We also have pins, with green representing Girl Scouting and
white representing the Boy Scouts, to show support for Scouting. Many of you already have our
representation of Scouting—I have more available if you would like
them.
You have already heard a lot of testimony
today, and there is a lot more to come. So I’m going to do something
to try to keep your attention.
I’m going to answer the Honorable Delegates questions; I’m going
tell you of way to pay for this bill. Before the Appropriations
Committee, there really isn’t a bigger question, is there?
First I would like to say that this bill would
not spend state dollars— rather, it would not take it from some of
our finest citizens.
If you’ll refer to the fiscal
note, you’ll see that, assuming a 6% tuition increase each
year—which, as you know, might be capped if other bills before the
House are passed—and that there are 200-300 Eagle and Golds’ a year,
which seems to be a liberal estimate, the bill is predicted to cost
$10.4 million in FY2010.
At first this seems like a lot of money.
I contacted Legislative Services, however, and found more
information. In this past year, FY
2004, the tuition intake for the University of Maryland System was
$842 million. The FY 2005 projected is 918 million, for a yearly
increase of 1.09%. If
this the same increase continues, FY2010 will see a tuition intake
of $1.4 billion. This means that 7/10 of 1
percent (0.73%)
of tuition intake could reasonably be utilized to help educate some
of Maryland’s finest citizens at state universities, to keep our
Scouts in state.
One of the points of the Boy Scout Law is to
be thrifty. To be wise with your money
and how it is spent. I can think of no wiser way
to use money than to not take it from our finest Scouts.
Think of the benefits that
this bill could give individuals and Maryland.
It would raise awareness for Scouting.
I would like to share the comments of a former scout with you.
“All of my friends quit [Scouting], so I lost interest.
I would have stayed if there was a full scholarship like that (HB
296) though. I think that’s a great
incentive to get the youth involved in healthier activities.” Karl
Nieberding, Bel Air Maryland.
Scouting is an excellent
program and tradition in America that gives young people a chance to
grow in a safe learning environment.
Modern society places a great deal of stress on our youth.
In the first two months of the 2004-2005 school year, there were 65
fires in Baltimore City schools (Washington Times). 65 fires in two months! Can you imagine learning in
that kind of a situation?
I certainly cannot. Scouting can give
individuals in these situations a chance to grow and learn.
The Boy Scouts offer over 100 merit badges that teach skills and
build character. This not only gives our
youth a wide array of experiences that could help them determine a
career for themselves, but it provides them with a sound base of
skills with which to pursue that career.
With this bill, those young
men and women that must fully devote themselves to learning and
self-improvement have a chance to go to college.
Their school environment may be so plagued with problems that they
cannot maintain a GPA to earn them one of the precious few
non-athletic merit scholarships our schools offer.
If they can apply themselves well enough to earn the necessary
grades to be accepted at a school, HB 296 would give them the chance
to continue to learn and improve their lives.
Students who only have the
opportunity to go to community college due to financial difficulties
could earn the ability to go to a four-year school.
HB 296 would keep these
individuals in state.
They would be more likely to live in Maryland, continuing to give
back to the community though leadership, civic activism, and
community service.
All of this for allowing
Scouts to keep what would amount to 7/10 of 1 percent of
tuition intake.
I
would like to leave you with what the points of the Scout Law have
to say about this bill. House Bill according to the Scout Law
2
A Scout is Loyal; a Scout is loyal
to his country and his community, always striving to do service. Please be loyal to our
finest Scouts by supporting HB 296!
9
A Scout is Thrifty; a Scout is
wise with his money as he is with all things, realizing their proper
value. Please be thrifty with our
state’s possible dollars by keeping our finest citizens in state,
and encouraging others to excel, while gaining community service,
civic action, and leadership!
6
A Scout is Kind. PLEASE support Scouting,
Education, and Maryland!
