Examining student loans

The Legislature deserves credit for trying to give the public a sense of the shape of the amorphous Maine Educational Services, a growing organization responsible for approximately 70 percent of the student loans in Maine. Lawmakers handled this difficult issue thoughtfully, and their legislation should help shed light and increase competition in this industry.

The inquiries into student loans came about this year because, for the first time, Maine bumped into the federal ceiling on its allowed distribution of tax-exempt bonds. This scarcity brought questions. Questions like, just how has MES come to dominate the market? And, how do students benefit from this state service? It was more than a little disturbing that no one outside MES, which oversees quasi-governmental agencies, seemed to know.

The answers are more difficult than they might appear. Rather than trying to solve them hastily, the Legislature’s Committee on Business and Economic Development wisely chose to form a commission to examine all the issues around the use of the bonds. And they went further to provide private lending institutions an opportunity to offer the low-cost loans by starting a $10 million pilot program. Last year, MES issued all $50 million worth of these bonds available for student loans.

The most important aspect of the legislation, which has gained initial support in both houses, is its emphasis on public disclosure. Its appointed commission will examine the benefits delivered to the Maine public through this program, and regular reports thereafter should ensure that those benefits continue.

Clearing the air on this issue is particularly important because Maine has long recognized that its success in K-12 education has not continued into higher education because not enough of its students go on to college. Affordability is the major hurdle that keeps many away. Helping students over this hurdle benefits both them and everyone else. So it is more than appropriate for the state to play a role in finding ways for students to attend college; the key is making sure the money is well-spent.

The work of the Legislature improves the chances that it will be. And when the commission’s work is completed next winter, lawmakers ought to be prepared to make the changes necessary to maintain confidence in the student-loan program.