Bacon's Rebellion

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Some College Graduates Will Get Paid to Live in Southwest or Southside Virginia

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by

Dick Hall-Sizemore
in , ,

by Dick Hall-Sizemore

The Tobacco Commission (Virginia Tobacco Region and Revitalization Commission) has come up with a program that does not involve pork-barrel grants.

Two of the problems afflicting the area served by the Commission, Southside and Southwest, are a shortage of people to fill certain jobs and a shortage of young adults putting down roots in the area. Its Talent Attraction Program is designed to address both problems. Under it, young graduates working in certain field can get up to $48,000 in student loans paid off.

The program is open to anyone graduating since 2019 with a bachelor’s degree or higher. Each participant must commit to living in the area for 24 months and working in one of the following areas:

  • Public School Teacher in Science, Math, Technology/Computer Science, or Career and Technical Education (Grades 6-12)
  • Public School Special Education Teacher (K-12)
  • Speech Language Pathologist
  • Physical Therapist
  • Occupational Therapist
  • Industrial or Electrical Engineer
  • Information Security, Network, or Computer Systems Analyst

In addition, a participant must “become significantly civically engaged in their community by volunteering with local non-profit or government activities, such as the United Way, Ruritan Club, Junior League, PTA, citizen committee for local government, local fire/EMS, food banks, youth sports coach, etc., with a total annual engagement of at least 50 hours of work.”

For the first two years, a participant will receive up to $12,000 annually for student loan repayment.  The awards can be renewed for an additional two years.

The advantages of the program are its targeting of employment areas in which there is a need for people and its requirement of civic engagement, with the hope that participants will develop ties to their communities and stay beyond their two-year commitment.

Because the program is just in its first years, it is too early to gauge its success.  According to the Richmond-Times Dispatch and the Roanoke Times, to which I am indebted for calling attention to this program, for the 2019 cohort, there were 120 applicants, of which 92 were accepted, and 73 who wound up fulfilling the requirements the first year. For this group, the Commission paid out $670,000 in loan repayments (an average of $9,178 each.) They are still in their second year; therefore, it is not known how many have completed their total commitments. The 2020 group consisted of 91 applicants and 77 acceptances. If they fulfill the requirements, that would be $1.35 million in loan repayments. Most of the participants have been teachers.

My Soapbox

This program is not going to answer all the problems of Southside and Southwest Virginia. For example, it does not create jobs. But, it does help fill the existing jobs that are proving hard to fill. It also provides an incentive for recent college graduates from the region to return home to live and work, as well as attracting new college graduates to the area. Finally, it helps alleviate the college loan burden that these graduates may have. Hopefully, applications to, and participation in, the program will increase. Also, it is hoped that the commission will evaluate the program in five years to determine how many of its participants stayed in the area.

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24 responses to “Some College Graduates Will Get Paid to Live in Southwest or Southside Virginia”

  1. Matt Adams Avatar
    Matt Adams

    Sounds similar to the programs that exist for Physicians. I think part of that hope is they’ll put roots down and not leave and grown the community.

    I think your statement in your soapbox moment is correct.

    It also provides an incentive for recent college graduates from the region to return home to live and work, as well as attracting new college graduates to the area

    As someone who was born in a small town (not VA) there were no prospects for me to return to. I enjoyed growing up there and a vast majority of my family still resides there. Giving some individuals the opportunity to maintain that closeness with their families is a fantastic thing.

    1. Nancy Naive Avatar
      Nancy Naive

      Oops, THIS is Northern Exposure come to Virginia.

      My in-laws lived summers in a small town in NH. They had a real class act small hospital, and twice a year the whole town held a festival that involved auctions, parades, carnivals, etc., all profits to bonuses for doctors, staff and equipment purchases.

      They boasted a high retention rate.

      1. LarrytheG Avatar
        LarrytheG

        One of the easier Win-Wins would be for Virginia to forgive student loans for those in the medical and K-12 fields in exchange for taking positions in rural areas with those needs.

        We spend a lot of our time bickering over partisan issues rather than searching for non-partisan win-wins.

        1. Nancy Naive Avatar
          Nancy Naive

          Forgiving a student loan so that Podunk, Va. can have a doctor is a Commie plot.

      2. Matt Adams Avatar
        Matt Adams

        Good for them, most of us common folk don’t get to “summer live” anywhere but work.

        1. Nancy Naive Avatar
          Nancy Naive

          Most you common folk got 20+ more years of work until you make it to where they were in that position too. Keep smiling. You’ll get there. Alas, then you die shortly thereafter.

          1. Matt Adams Avatar
            Matt Adams

            No, most common people don’t get that even after 20 years.

          2. Nancy Naive Avatar
            Nancy Naive

            Well, depends on how much you want to spend. My brother-in-law has an old trailer on a piece of propery in western Mass. Cost him less than a car, a typical car.

            But sadly, you’re right about one thing, fewer and fewer aren’t even making that long.

  2. LarrytheG Avatar
    LarrytheG

    Yet another – non-partisan, non-grievance public policy article Thank You.

    And yes, once again, the left wing MSM reports: ” According to the Richmond-Times Dispatch and the Roanoke Times, to which I am indebted for calling attention to this program,”.. Where is the Conservative media?

    And yes, along these same lines – one of the other biggies for rural Virginia is healthcare. Where is the Tobacco Commission on that?

    1. Dick Hall-Sizemore Avatar
      Dick Hall-Sizemore

      As Matt notes, there is a similar program for health care professionals, but that is administered by VDH.

  3. James A. Bacon Avatar
    James A. Bacon

    As long as SW Virginia communities are spending their own money directly or indirectly (through the Tobacco Commission), then this is probably a good idea. I do hope they track the results to see how long the graduates stay.

    1. LarrytheG Avatar
      LarrytheG

      What is the original purpose of the Tobacco Commission?

      Was it supposed to be compensation for the adverse health impacts of cigarettes?

      Why are we doing economic development instead of rural health care with that money?

      1. DJRippert Avatar
        DJRippert

        Believe it or not … much of the tobacco commission funds had nothing to do with helping the victims of tobacco. Instead, they were used to subsidize those who grew the plant which killed millions.

        On January 11, 1964 the Surgeon General released his first report documenting the health problems related to smoking. The writing was on the wall. 36 years later the Virginia General Assembly allocated 50% of the tobacco settlement funds to subsidize the farmers who continued to grow the crop for decades after it was known to be hazardous.

        “Virginia has initially earmarked 50 percent of the money for tobacco growers — the same amount earmarked by neighboring North Carolina. Ten percent has been allocated to medical research and educational programs aimed at curbing youth smoking. The remaining 40 percent is being distributed at the General Assembly’s discretion.”Tobacco farmers and supporters can rest a little easier now knowing that the money is going to be spent with their best interests in mind,” said state Sen.Phillip P. Puckett, D-Lebanon, who represents a rural tobacco growing region of Virginia.”

        10% allocated to the victims, 50% allocated to the farmers that grew the tobacco.

        Your Imperial Clown Show in Richmond in action.

        Since 1996 Altria has donated $7,461,499 to Virginia politicians.

        In Virginia. about 9,200 adults die each year from smoking while another 1,600 die from second hand smoke. In other words, more Virginians die from smoking each year than died from COVID-19.

        And the ass-clowns in the General Assembly used the tobacco money to subsidize the tobacco farmers 5 times more than to combat or treat smoking.

        https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2000/04/24/virginia-tobacco-farmers-to-get-big-chunk-of-settlement

        1. James Wyatt Whitehead Avatar
          James Wyatt Whitehead

          New killer plant on the way. Legal July 1. I am certain Altria has already mapped out how to purchase influence in the era of Cannibis.

          1. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            If Virginia wanted to regulate RIGHT – some of the tax on alcohol and cigarettes and weed would go to Medicaid for substance abuse and related.

          2. James Wyatt Whitehead Avatar
            James Wyatt Whitehead

            That is great. Problem. Only white collar potheads are going to buy from a state endorsed pot shop and pay those taxes. They are so nifty and square and cool.
            Everybody else, which is most users, are hitting the black market where there are no rules unless somebody is holding a firearm.

          3. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            Maybe – but plenty of taxes seem to come from alcohol and cigarettes.

            We allow localities to collect taxes on cigarettes and instead of earmarking it for healthcare for people in their jurisdiction, they spend it on other things.

          4. Nancy Naive Avatar
            Nancy Naive

            Of course. They own the rolling machines.

        2. LarrytheG Avatar
          LarrytheG

          We actually agree on this.

          For ALL the HOOPLA over the Medicaid Expansion and nursing homes and mental health needs – the tobacco money goes for other questionable economic development schemes.

          We could have done some important and needed things that would have also helped taxpayers.

          I don’t know who voted which way and don’t care whether they were D or R – but it was shortsighted and a disservice to taxpayers as well as those in need of health care in rural Va.

      2. Dick Hall-Sizemore Avatar
        Dick Hall-Sizemore

        Here is a clarification. Some of the funding allocated to the Tobacco Commission was indeed used to indemnify individual farmers for their economic losses. It was determined that the indemnification was completed in 2013. Since then, the funds have been used solely to benefit the regions in order to help them transition away from tobacco as the chief cash crop.

        1. LarrytheG Avatar
          LarrytheG

          Yes. Appreciate that. But that kind of funding has a history of waste and money frittered away.

          And that’s not so terrible on it’s face in some respects but when, at the same time, we have rural hospitals closing and deficits in healthcare for rural residents – and fights in the GA over Medicaid funding – … it’s just seems misappropriated to me – IMHO of course.

          1. Dick Hall-Sizemore Avatar
            Dick Hall-Sizemore

            You are correct about money frittered away. That was a major criticism of the Tobacco Commission for many years. That, and the lack of accountability. One of the previous executive directors (a former state Secretary of Finance, no less) was convicted of federal charges of embezzling over a $1 million from the commission. After that incident, the GA tightened up on the commission. Lately, a lot of money has been spent on scholarships and installation of broad band.

  4. James Wyatt Whitehead Avatar
    James Wyatt Whitehead

    This is a good program and will help a struggling southside Virginia. I noticed unemployment in Danville has finally eased up from levels unseen since 1990.
    https://www.chathamstartribune.com/news/article_d3d308c2-5bf4-11eb-a4e0-271dfd00b665.html

  5. Nancy Naive Avatar
    Nancy Naive

    Southside? I assume that’s the stretch from Emporia west? ‘Cause it means something entirely different ’round here.

    Sounds like a good idea. Northern Exposure come to Virginia on a grander scale.

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