Page 14 Portland Observer JUNE 22,1989
SAVING FOR
YOUR CHILD’S
COLLEGE
EDUCATION
Il your child is still in diapers
your probably think that you have all
the tune in the world to start building
college funds. Think again. The
Department of Education expects the
average cost for attending a four-
year private college to soar to almost
$200,000 in the next 18 years. The
cost at public college may be nearly
$60,000.
To afford such exorbitant expenses,
the Oregon Society of CPAs sug­
gests that parents begin saving for
their child’s college education as soon
as possible,by starting early, follow­
ing should tax strategies, and choos­
ing smart investments, you should be
able to build an adequate college
fund.
T im e's on Y our Side
The more years you have to save,
the less you need to save each year.
For example, you ta n build a
SlO0,OOO-ncst egg in 15 years by
investing S289 a month in an account
earning eight percent interest. But if
you reduce your savings period by
ju st five years, you will have to in­
vest S547 a month at the same rate to
yield the same S I 00,000.
Another advantage o f early plan­
ning is that you can afford to take
greater investment risks-which tra­
ditionally pay o ff in substantially
higher interest rales.
C H O O S E LESS T A X IN G W AYS
T O SAVE
To make the m ost o f w hat you
save, try to m inimize the am ount of
tax you m ust pay on unearned in­
com e, such as interest or dividends.
In the past, the easiest wav to accom ­
plish this goal was for parents to shift
income to a child. W hile this strategy
still has m erit, tax reform has re­
duced the benefits of income in ex­
cess o f SI ,000, the excess am ount is
taxed at the p arents’ top marginal
rate. However, children age 14 or
older pay tax on unearned income at
their own lower rale. Keep these rules
in mind when making any invest­
ment decisions.
BLY SERIES EE BONDS
You can purchase Series EE bonds
for as little as $25 or as much as
S 10,000. Buy them in yourow n name
and you can defer taxes on the inter­
est earned for up to 12 years. As an
alternative, you can buy the bonds in
your ch ild ’s nam e with a maturity
date that defers taxes until after your
child reaches age 14. Then, when he
or she redeems the bonds, the interest
will be taxed at his or her low er rate.
In either case, you receive an accept­
able rale of interest and a guaranteed
minimum return.
For EE bonds purchased after D e­
cem ber 31,1989, the tax benefits will
be even greater. Under a law passed
last fall, the accum ulated interest on
Series EE bonds will be totally tax-
free if you redeem the bonds to pay
for your own or your dependents’
education expenses. To qualify for
the interest exclusion, the bonds must
be issued after D ecem ber 31, 1989,
and you must be at least 24 years old
at the time of purchase. Be aware
that the exemption is available only
if the bondholder pays qualified higher
education expenses in the same year
that the bonds arc redeemed. II the
amount redeemed exceeds the year’s
qualified educational costs, the amount
of tax-free interest will be reduced
proportionately. O ne last point: the
break is phased out for joint filers
with an adjusted gross income (AGI)
o f $60,000 to $90,000 and for single
filers with AGI of $40,000 to $55,000.
Z E R O S CAN ADD UP
A nother type of bond to consider
is the “ zero coupon” bond, which is
offered at a price substantially lower
than its face value. W hat makes these
bonds a eood investment is their high
ratcol return when they mature. Note
that while these bonds pay no inter­
est to the holder, the investor is nev­
ertheless taxed as if interest were
paid out annually. For this reason,
you may prefer zero-coupon m unici­
pal bonds. The interest is exem pt
from federal taxes, and also from
state and local taxes if you buy bonds
issued by ill state in which you live.
Certain municipal bond funds can
also offer triple tax-free returns.
T A K E A ST A K E IN GROW TH
ST O C K S
If you arc an adventuresom e in­
vestor with a child under age 14,
consider purchasing nondividend­
paying growth stocks in your child’s
name. Remember, as long as the stocks
arc sold after your child turns 14, the
gain will be taxed at your ch ild ’s
low er rale rather than yours.
Growth mutual funds typically
provide larger gains over a long pe­
riod o f time. But, bew are that any
stock-market invesuiieni involves risk.
You could lose all or a portion of
your money with slocks. And the
sooner > ou need to use the funds, the
greater the risk is that you may have
to sell them at a loss.
C O N SID E R N EW FIN A N C IN G
O P T IO N S
Finally, you should carefully
consider some ol the new techniques
lor financing a college education.
For instance, some stales and private
colleges now o iler tuition prepay­
ment plans. The plans, available to
parents with children up to age 17,
allow you to prepay four years o f
tuition lor y our child at a substantial
discount. The college will invest the
money during the years that the child
is not attending. You w on’t have to
deal with inflation or the investment
risk.
The obvious disadvantage to pre­
paid tuition plans is that your child
may not want to attend the college
you choose, or worse, might not be
adm itted. It so, in m ost eases you
will get your money back, but not
any ot the interest. Some schools
may allow you to transfer the money
to another school, as tong as the child
attends the collcec vou nicked for ar
least his or her freshm an year. O ther
colleges are joining together and
allow ing prepaid tuition to apply to
several schools.
CPA s point out one other serious
draw back to prepaid tuition plans.
The IRS has ruled that the prepay­
ment represents a gift to a trust, but
does not qualify for the $10,000 annual
g ill exclusion. In addition, w hile you
w on’t pay tax on the fund as it accu­
m ulates, the trust will. As a result,
the fund will grow at a slow er rate.
W h at’s w orse, when your child be­
gins attending college, he or she will
have to pay tax on the difference
betw een the actual cost o f i n itin n and
PCC Cascade Of­
fers Variety of
Summer Classes
A variety of special interest classes
will be offered this sum m er by the
Portland Com m unity College C om ­
munity Education departm ent at
C a sc a d e
C a m p u s,
705
N.
Killingsworth St.
Sailing - Basic a n d In te rm e d i­
ate will be taught by instructors from
the Portland Sailing Center. The six-
week, coeducational class will start
with an orientation session from 9 to
11 a.m. Saturday, June 24, in Port­
able Building 3. During orientation,
students will schedule daysand tunes
for their 2-1/2-hour weekly classes.
C ost is $10 PCC tuition, plus $120
payable to Portland Sailing Center.
B eginning Sign L anguage will
m eet from 7 to 9 p.m. W ednesdays
for eight weeks, starting June 28, in
Room 104, Jackson Hall. Cleo Arne,
a sign language instructor in the PCC
Interpreter Training for the Deaf
Program , will teach the class. C ost is
$22.50.
T raveling: Long-T erm O verseas
A d v en tu res, a one-session m ini­
course, will m eet from 6:30 to 9 p.m.
W ednesday, June 28, in Room B35,
Cascade Hall. Mark Pcngilly, an ex­
perienced traveler, visits overseas.
C ost is $4.
H erb s: N a tu re ’s F irst-A id K it
will be offered in two sessions this
sum m er, starting June 28 and August
2. The three-w eek course will in­
clude herb identification, gathering
and m edicinal uses. Each section will
include a field trip. Students arc ad ­
vised to wear walking shoes to each
class, said instructor Judy Siegel, an
experienced herb grow er and gath­
erer. The class will meet from 6 to 8
p.m. W ednesdays in Portable Build­
ing 10. Cost is $16.
Sketching Historic Buildings will
m eet from 6:30 to8:30p.m . W ednes­
days for four weeks, starting June 28,
I at various locations in the Portland
area. First class will be held in Port­
able Building 5. Instructor Julia Spence
will teach the elem ents o f architec­
tural sketching, using historic Port­
Small Business Services o f Port­ land buildings as models. Previous
land Com m unity College has sched­ drawing skill is not necessary. Stu­
uled two sum m er courses, designed dents are to bring soft pencils to
for ow ners of small businesses, at the class. C ost is $11.
Comic Book Muking/Simple Ani­
PCC Cascade Cam pus, 705 N.
m
ation,
taught by Lewis Harris, will
Killingsworth St.
m
eet
from
9 to 11 a.m. Saturdays for
Teaching both classes will be Jear
eight
w
eeks
in Room 213, Jackson
Drew, long-time instructor in the PCC
Hall.
C
ost
is
$22.50
Small Business Management program
P et G ro o m in g a n d Health Care,
Tuition for each class is $8.50.
a
threc-w
cek class, will m eet from 6
C red it and Collections for Small
to
9
p.m.
Thursdays, starting June
B usiness, a thrcc-w cek course,will
29,
at
Wildwood
Pet Grooming, 4423
m eet from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. W ed­
N.E.
Frem
ont
St.
The class will offer
nesdays, starting June 28, in Room
groom
ing
techniques
for use at home
201 o f Jackson Hall. Drew will show
and
health
care
tips
for
dogs and cats.
students how to set up credit ac­
Instructor
will
be
Teresa
W allace,
counts and collect money due to them
long-time
animal
groomer
and
owner
G etting Financing - Alternative*
of
W
ildw
ood
pet
G
room
ing.
Cost
is
to B anks, will m eet from 6:30 to
$12.50.
9:30 p.m. W ednesday, July 19 and
Further class inform ation is avail­
26, in Portable Building 10. The clas*
will study non-bank loans, prom is­ able from the Cascade Campus
sory notes, cash flow analysis, crcdii Com m unity Education office, 244-
and collections analysis and relate« 6111, ext. 5205.
issues.
PCC Cascade
Schedules Classes !
for Business
People
1-day Blue Print Reading Class For
Building Construction
Cost:
No Charge to Certified Disadvantaged and
Women Business Enterprises $110 for non-
certified firms
Sponsor:
Tri Met Office of Civil Rights Programs
Date:
June 30, 1989 - -8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Location:
Tri-Met Administration Building - 3rd floor
4012 SE 17th Avenue,Portland, Oregon 97202
To Register: Call (503) 228-6731
Register by June 27, 1989
Due to limited class size, pre-registration is required.
Portland, all o f Portland.
The award program was devel­
oped by the Sears-Roebuck Founda­
tion in response to a need to recog­
nize excellence am ong college edu­
cators at the nation’s private col­
leges. It represents an innovative part­
nership with independent higher
education.
“ W ith this new program we arc
recognizing the importance o f teacher
comDctencc as a critical clem ent in
strengthening undergraduate teach­
ing and learning,” said Paula A.
Banks, president of The Sears-Roe­
buck Foundation.
“ We salute The Sears-Roebuck
Foundation for recognizing one of
society’s m ost fundamental needs,
excellence in teaching,” said John P.
Blcssington, president of the Foun­
dation for Independent Higher Edu­
cation. ‘‘These grants will provide a
w ell-deserved showcase for some of
our nation’s best private college edu­
cators and hopefully will spur others
to follow their exam ple.”
The Foundation for Independent
Higher Education, a consortium of
39 state and regional associations,
represents independent colleges across
the country.
The O regon Independent College
Foundation seeks funds from busi­
nesses and foundations to help pay
operating costs of eight Oregon pri­
vate colleges and universities. A l­
m ost $1.5 million will be distributed
in the 1989-90 school year.
REED COLLEGE
ANNOUNCES
$250,000 GIFT
TO SUPPORT
SCHOLARSHIPS
FOR DISADVAN­
TAGED
STUDENTS
Reed College has received a gift
of $250,000 to support a scholarship
program for academ ically qualified
students from low er income fami­
lies, Reed College President James
L. Powell announced at the May
meeting o f the Reed College Board
o f Trustees.
The gift was made by Reed C ol­
lege alum nus ( ’50) and trustee W al­
ler Mintz. The fund, known as the
W aller M intz Op|K>rtunity Scholar­
ship, will be used primarily to re­
place the loan and work-study com ­
ponents o f the financial aid packages
being offered to financially disad­
vantaged students.
‘‘Not only would these students
find it difficult or impossible to at­
tend Reed because o f inadequate
family financial resources, but the
additional burden of satisfying loan
obligations and work-study require­
ments would further compromise their
ability to focus on their education,”
Pow ell said.
“ W alter’s generous gift is but the
latest in an im pressive display of
support for the College. W e are pro­
foundly grateful to him and his wife,
Sandy, for their selfless com m itm ent
to Reed,’’Powell concluded.
Mintz has served on the Reed Board
o f Trustees since 1971.
At least tw enty-one students will
benefit from the W alter M intz O p­
portunity Scholarship during the ten
years that the scholarships will be;
aw arded, beginning with the 1989-
90 academ ic year and ending with
the 1998-1990 academ ic year.
The average annual award for the
1989-90 academic year w ill be ap­
proxim ately $3,000. Each student is
eligible to receive the award annu­
ally, for a maximum of lour years at
Reed.
W alter M intz was bom in Aus­
tria, the son o f a Viennese lawyer.
After earning his B.A from Reed in
econom ics in 1950, he w ent to do
graduate work in econom ics at C o­
lumbia University.
USA Today recently called Mintz
a “ brilliant investor” for success­
fully building one of W all Street’s
great investm ent firms, Cum berland
Associates. The firm, which he co-
foundctl in 1971 after leaving his po­
sition as executive vice president with
Shearson, H ammill, now manages
more than $600 million.
Mintz, who is no longer active in
the day-to-day m anagem ent of
Cumberland, serves as part-time con­
sultant in the firm. He is currently
writing a book on econom ics and
finance.
>
CALL
PORTLAND OBSERVER
FAX #
503)288-0015
4
, A C III E Y E R S
1 * ■ T I » I T r XL» A» •• <> «
she advises those who want to get
good grades.
According to another student, some
kids even supplem ent their allow ­
ances by signing up to be teachers
assistants, and then change their
friends’ grades for money.
“ You do as little as possible, just
what you need to do to get through,”
is the common attitude encountered.
W
riter Ivan IIlieh has argued that the
Grants which pay for a large per­
basic
function o f education in to­
centage o f tuition are now available
day’s
society
is to make people feel
from Concordia College in N.E. Port­
stupid,
thereby
cow ing them into
land. These grants arc for people
submission.
But
based on at leas,
working in a health care field who
some
o
f
the
evidence,
the system ha
arc interested in getting a B. S. de­
disintegrated
beyond
even
this levi i
gree in Health Care Administration..
These are not loans that have to be o f control.
High school has become som e­
paid back. A grant will cover at least
thing
many students try to beat with
50% o f tuition in the B.S. degree |
program in Health Care Administra- | a minimum o f effort, frequently
tion, and students may also be eli- i managing it with alm ost Tom Saw ­
gible for additional PELL grants and yer ingenuity. And, in response, the
loans based on financial need. Many business of administering schools ha*
local hospitals, HMO’s, and long term becom e, in no small part, the art and
care facilities pay a percentage of science of devising systems that stu­
tuition for this program. T here arc dents c a n ’t cheat.
Remarkably few students seem to
HCA students presently attending
Concordia College for less than S 150 honestly consider high school a real­
tuition per 12 hour quarter. The pro­ istic preparation for a useful and sat­
fessional grant is available for any isfying life. And a great m any stu­
student accepted into the health care dents still drop out from high school
before graduating. Estim ates o f the
adm inistration degree program.
Students adm itted to the program numbers run high as 30 or 40 percent
usually have at least 1 year o f college in some areas.
“ W e have an army of drop outs,
coursework and 2 years experience
working in a health care field. Block and army o f unski 1 led, ” said S iobhan
transfers are done on com m unity Oppenheimer-Nicola, president of the
college and associate degrees and a Hispanic Policy Development Proj­
process called career asscssment/Prior ect, after the non-profit organization
Leant Experience can help a person conducted a national survey and dis­
get college credit for past work expe­ covered that the high school dropout
problem continued to span m ost eth ­
rience.
There are many careers available nic groups, including large num bers
in health care administration for bright o f W hite, Black and Hispanic kids.
enthusiastic people in hospital, long And, as one might expect, the survey
term, hom e, and com m unity based found that high unemployment plagues
care. INFORM ATION IS A V A IL­ these dropouts in later years.
W here docs our educational sys­
ABLE ABOUT HOW TO GET
tem
continue to go wrong? “ Proba­
TH ESE GRANTS AND OTHER
bly
the
first place to start is the reali­
FINANCIAL AID BY CALLING
zation
that
a few band-aides are not
CONCORDIA CO LLEG E O FFICE
going
to
fix
tilings,” says Marg Harris,
OF ADM ISSIONS FOR A FREE
dean
o
f
Delphi
Academy in Los
PACKET. 288-9371.
A ngeles, one o f a growing num ber of
private schools which utilize new
educational methods developed by
L. Ron Hubbard, now one o f the
m ost acclaim ed and widely read au­
thors o f all lime.
by Ron Harris
‘ ‘In most of the efforts to fix pub­
lic education, there isn ’ t even a clear
President Bush recently pointed
w orkable definition o f what educa­
out that we spend more per capita on
tion really should be doing for stu­
education than many of our toughest
dents.”
overseas com petitors.
A visit io the Delphi school pres­
America’s $300 billion-a-year edu­
ents one with hundreds o f bright,
cation lab, he called “ staggering”
eager, highly literate students who,
and he said urgently needed educa­
by the time they reach high school
tional im provem ents were now not a
level, are seriously working to pre­
question o f more money and more
pare for successful careers,. Here a
resources, but rather a question of
pass in any academic exam ination is
how our current resources are util­
85 percent, 100 percent after supple­
ized.
mentary “ cram m ing.” Yet the stu­
It has been 6 years since the N a­
dents arc eagerly inquisitive and
tional Com m ission on Excellence in
alm ost as excited about learning as
Education issued its alarm ing report.
they are oriented toward problem
" A Nation at R isk.” And after 6
solving. Com paring Delphi to public
years o f nation-w ide efforts to re­
schools is the contri st between dav
form education, A m erican schools and night.
arc far from making the grade.” Our
But what is the real difference in
schools arc in trouble - real the way this school approaches edu­
trouble,” Prcsidcnt Bush told the Busi­ cation? “ As a society declines, it
ness Roundtable Conference on more and more resorts to authoritar­
Education early in June.
ian teaching and attem pts increas­
To discover just how much trouble, ingly to impress upon the individual
one only need look at som e o f the that he must adjust to his environ­
goings-on in Inner City schools. (It is ment and that he cannot adjust his
in Inner City Schools particularly environm ent to him ,” writes H ub­
w here, according to the Carnegie bard, whose best-seller Dianctics -
Foundation for the A dvancem ent of ‘ ‘ the operators manual for the human
Training, there is “ a disturbing gap mind” - has become the most widely
between reform rhetoric and results.” ) used self-im provem ent book in the
In such schools, many o f the stu­ world. “ The educational process
dents complain bitterly (when they becom es one o f semi-hypnotically
aren ’t skipping classes). Teachers receiving doughy masses o f data and
break down or burnout. School ad­ regurgitating them upon exam ina­
m inistrations frantically try to keep
tion papers. Reason and self-deter­
things running in some sem blance of minism arc all but forbidden.
order with, they say, loo little money
“ ...Education m ight be said to be
and not enough parent involvement.
the process by which the individual
Talking with the students them ­ is given the accum ulated data o f a
selves can be highly revealing. High
long span of culture. It can, no less
schools today appear to be a very dif­ validly than personal experience, solve
ferent universe from those institu­ many o f his problems... An educa­
tions we o f older generations rem em ­ tion which invites reason and the
ber. Take, for instance, what “ suc­ com parison o f taught data with the
cessful” students say the successful
real world can raise the individual...”
student needs to know to get along.
That is just what is not happening
“ The best way to skip classes is
for most students in public schools.
not to show u p a l school at all,” says
M ost high schools now tend to ram ­
one Los Angeles high school student
pantly manifest, in microcosm, all
who com pares his school to jail.
that is wrong with modern society.
“ Notes from parents aren’t usually
Drugs, cheating, lack o f motivation,
looked at too closely. The teachers
shi ftlcssncss and purposelessness are
d o n ’t really care.”
all there in full force.
In other high schools, students
A m erica’s first failing in “ m od­
find out when roll call is to be taken
em education” is the wide-spread
for official purpose and leave after
acceptance that this is all somehow
that.
an inevitable natural stale of affairs.
Missing classes, o f course, can
Il isn’t.
have a disastrous effect on grades -
The reality is that in our schools
unless you know how to beat the
lies the hope of tomorrow. But the
system. The trick is to become the
sad truth, as things continue to stand,
teacher’s pel, says a student who
is that this hope grows dimmer year
brags she managed to miss 74 days
by year.
last year and still graduated with a
2.9 grade point average (based on a 4
point system). “ Be polite, friendly :
and laugh at all the teacher’s jo k es,”
GRANTS FOR
TUITION
AVAILABLE
AT CONCORDIA
COLLEGE
SCHOOLS STILL
HAVE MUCH TO
LEARN