Hirings to help launch plan for prepaid tuition

CARSON CITY -- A program to allow Nevada parents to pay their children's college tuition up-front will start this October.

The directors of the Prepaid College Tuition Program on Tuesday hired advertising, financial and legal consultants to get the program off the ground.

Enacted by the 1997 Legislature, the program allows parents, grandparents and others to set up savings accounts with the state to pay future college tuition costs.

State Treasurer Bob Seale, who initiated the program, said R & R Advertising will do the marketing. The contract calls for anywhere from $334,000 to $643,000 to be spent on television, radio and other advertisements to encourage people to join the program.

R & R was one of 12 firms from which bids were solicited for the job. Seale said a national consultant also will be hired to help Nevada use ideas that worked in 16 other states.

The firm of Milliman & Robertson of Pennsylvania was selected "to crunch the numbers" to determine how much a person must contribute to guarantee there will be enough money available when a child reaches college age.

Seale said the price list should be available by the time of the next meeting to be held in about 30 days. And R & R can start its advertising campaign in mid- to late August.

The Milliman firm will be paid $190 an hour. It was selected from three applicants. The board also hired DeLoitte & Touche LLP & Touche of Columbus, Ohio, to make sure the program achieves a tax-exempt status. DeLoitte will be paid $225 an hour.

A Tallahassee, Fla., lawyer has been given a contract to make sure Nevada does not infringe on a patent given in New Jersey as that state set up its college-financing plan. Phil Blank will be paid $185 an hour. Seale said this is a highly specialized area with which the state attorney general's office is not very familiar.

Intuition Inc., of Jacksonville, Fla., was hired for $65,000 a year to help with the administration of paperwork, which will be heavy during the enrollment period from Oct. 1 to Nov. 15. There will be only one period each year for people to sign up.

The Legislature authorized $1.2 million for the start-up costs of the program. Administrative costs will have to come out of the trust fund established to pay the future college costs.

Seale and Gov. Bob Miller pushed the program through the Legislature, which put a four-year timetable on it. Unless specifically renewed by the 2001 Legislature, the program will be defunct.

archive