BANGOR – Gov. John Baldacci helped launch Maine’s community college system last week with good news for the first class of students.

Thanks to a $1 million gift from the Osher Foundation, and state matching funds, community college tuition will be frozen at its current level of $68 per credit hour, or about $2,040 a year, for the next two years. More than 10,000 students will benefit from the freeze.

The governor announced the gift at an afternoon event at Eastern Maine Community College in Bangor. The gift includes the University of Maine System and Maine Maritime Academy, which will use the funds for scholarships.

Surrounded by some of the first community college students, donned in their new college T-shirts, the governor said, “On this historic day, as we inaugurate Maine’s community college system, our message to those contemplating college is [that] we’re lowering barriers to higher education. By establishing a true community college system and keeping the cost affordable, we’re opening the door of college to thousands of Mainers in this and future generations.”

Maine Community College System President John Fitzsimmons said the MCCS will raise another $950,000 over the next five years to create an endowment fund for annual scholarships. The fund is expected to generate about $50,000 a year.