PACT Problem

College Baldwin County Thousands of Alabama kids enrolled in the state's prepaid college tuition plan may have to come up with some extra cash to get through school.

by Debbie Williams

Published: Thu, March 05, 2009 - 5:35 pm CST

"My son is a junior in high school and he wants to attend Auburn University."
But David McKeithen's dream maybe in jeopardy.
When the stock market took a tumble, so did Alabama's Prepaid College Tuition plan, a trust fund set up to cover future costs of in-state undergraduate tuition.
There are around 50 thousand participants in the 'PACT' program, all depending on that money to go to school. Carol McKeithen's family is among them. "My father-in-law actually purchased the plan for us so when we entered him in Bayside we thought well, it's really expensive to go there but we weren't too terribly worried because we knew we had college handled at least the fees and tuition."
Then came word the fund had suffered "a significant negative impact due to a 50 percent drop in the stock market over the last year," according to a letter sent to participants. "A lot of people are in my position. You want to save for college and are trying to do the right thing and now, there's a chance it might not be there."
A call to the states major university's provided no help. Auburn University and the University of Alabama said they could not help financially but agreed to provide assistance in finding other options.
The University of South Alabama says the school had "not made a decision to help".
Don't panic. That's the word from PACT board member Dr. Gregory Fitch who says the fund has weathered similar storms and bounced back.
"Historically this particular fund, over the last 18 years with the tech breakdown and also in the 2001-2002 recession, was able to handle the reductions and make adjustments and still able to meet requirements," says Fitch.
Like so many parents, Carol McKeithen hopes the fund recovers. Either way she's prepared to do whatever it takes to fulfill a college dream. "We'll cut out other things. We'll delay things, we'll adjust but it will be a tough blow because he's a junior. There's not a lot of time to make those plans now."

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southfan1981 Says:

Fri, Mar 06, 2009 at 1:46 pm

Investments sank 50%. I’ve never seen the want ads this slim.

framkly Says:

Fri, Mar 06, 2009 at 8:52 am

My girlfriend bought the plan for her two kids years ago. I decided to buy a cheap rental house and deposit the monthly income into the bank for my child’s college fund. In today’s job market, with a GED or PHD your chances of landing a good job slim. I thought the PACT plan was backed by the State of Alabama.

southfan1981 Says:

Thu, Mar 05, 2009 at 10:41 pm

I admit I giggled at the English Teacher’s comments. You are fighting a losing battle. Written communication has taken “aback” seat. J/K!

engtchr Says:

Thu, Mar 05, 2009 at 9:24 pm

For God’s sake, someone fix the apostrophes and lack thereof! Possessive nouns need them. Plurals don’t! A subordinate clause can’t stand alone as a sentence.
This story is the most fraught with errors of all the ones I’ve ever read on here.