State Treasurer Joe Torsella yesterday introduced a pilot program to pay $100 starter bonuses to the state’s 529 college savings program. Indiana and Westmoreland counties are two of the six counties included in the plan.
The $2.25 million Keystone Scholars pilot program is funded through private donations. Torsella says it is the first step in a plan to establish universal college savings accounts for Pennsylvania’s newborn and adopted children.
In a news release, Torsella says all funds for the demonstration project are coming from sources that include PHEAA and the Neubauer Family Foundation, with other western Pennsylvania philanthropists expected to join the coalition in the coming months.
The treasurer is working with lawmakers to craft legislation to make the Keystone Scholars program available in every county, adding that it would not be funded with general fund tax dollars.
In addition to Indiana and Westmoreland, other counties in the pilot program are Delaware, Elk, Luzerne, and Mifflin counties.
