HELENA - To help Montana college graduates afford to remain in the state, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Brian Schweitzer proposed Monday to make their student loan payments tax deductible for five years after graduation.

At a press conference in Missoula, Schweitzer said rising tuition and the state's ranking 45th in personal income forces many graduates of Montana's two- and four-year public and private colleges and universities to search for better paying jobs elsewhere.

"It is time to stop the exodus of Montana's best and brightest," Schweitzer told some University of Montana students on their first day of fall classes. "When we give our children more incentives to stay in Montana after college, they will put their ingenuity to work and help grow the economy."

In 1980, 6 percent of the per capita income of Montanans went to cover the cost of tuition and fees at university system units, he said. Today, that figure is 16 percent.

"That is significant," he said. "That is buying power. That is family misery index. The most significant thing is the ability of a family to have that dream to have university degrees has become three times more difficult."

Schweitzer, a Whitefish farmer-rancher, recommended two other steps to lower tuition costs for Montana college and university students without raising tuition

His second proposal called for establishing a "Montana Mentoring Program" under the direction of the governor's office to raise $10 million every four years in voluntary grants from Montana businesses to endow a college scholarship program. Interest from the endowment would fund college scholarships. Schweitzer said he would start raising the money, and his successors of governor would continue to build a large endowment in their terms.

In exchange, participating businesses would help shape their future workforce by partnering with colleges and universities to design career-specific curricula and offer skill-based summer internships and work-study programs that provide a "direct conduit between Montana graduates and the Montana job market," he said.

Finally, Schweitzer advocated cultivating public-private partnerships between technical colleges and Montana's businesses and industries to help design specific worker-training programs and provide apprenticeships and post-graduate jobs. Businesses that participate and employ trained graduates of these programs would agree to repay one-third of that student's tuition within the first five years of employment.

"Instead of spending tens of thousands of dollars to train new employees, these programs save businesses money by providing them with skilled employees that are ready to work on day one," Schweitzer said.

The Democratic candidate said he has spoken to some university presidents about the problem of rising tuition. He said he is offering common sense solutions to lower tuition costs without increasing the burden on Montana taxpayers.

"Given the tax constraints that we have right now, we're not going to get that turned around until we get the economy moving again," Schweitzer said. "I can't ask the people to pay more taxes. We need higher wages."

Schweitzer pegged the total cost of allowing tax deductions for student loan interest payments for years per student at $3 million a year, but said it would be worth it to keep more of the new graduates in Montana.

"Nothing hurts me more than to hear young graduates tell me that they love Montana and want to stay here, but that they can't afford to," he said. "We have to do something to turn it around."

In response, Schweitzer's Republican opponent, Secretary of State Bob Brown, said: "Brian Schweitzer cannot improve Montana's economy or keep our kids here by 'wish upon (a) star' policies. If we want to increase opportunities for Montana's kids and provide more scholarship opportunities we need to improve our economy by keeping taxes low, developing our natural resources and creating new job opportunities in technology, finance and small businesses."

"You don't create good paying jobs for Montana graduates with Brian's philosophy of increasing taxes on business that would employee our young people," Brown added.