Florida county hurt by pandemic offers tuition to graduates

Leaders in one tourism-dependent Florida county battered by the pandemic are giving graduating high school seniors free tuition at either the local community college or the county technical school. Osceola County commissioners announced earlier this year that they would set aside $12 million in federal COVID-19 funding to pay for the tuition of any 2022 high school graduate who wanted to go to Valencia College or the county technical school. Because the available funds are limited, the program is only for 2022 graduates. County Commission chairman Brandon Arrington says the goal of Osceola Prosper is to boost education levels past high school and raise the prospects for better-paying jobs for Osceola residents.