University of Massachusetts at Boston graduates roared their approval yesterday of Governor Deval Patrick's plan to open community colleges free to all students, even as lawmakers and others criticized the proposal because the governor never said how he would pay for it.
Patrick, beaming before a crowd of 10,000 graduates and their families gathered beside Dorchester Bay, outlined his vision of public education in his commencement address to graduates of the state's most diverse public university. He called for universal preschool, full-day kindergarten, a longer school day and year, and at least two years of college or technical education, paid for by the state.
He dismissed concerns about funding, saying some people also had doubted that United States could put a man on the moon or win World War II. He said that Massachusetts must invest in education to strengthen its economy and compete with China and other nations for business.
UPDATE: More from the Herald, Globe, New York Times, Patriot Ledger and the AP.