Today, District 8 Council Member Edward Burroughs III announced a new program that will provide free tuition to residents at Prince George’s County Community College using revenue generated from the MGM Casino located in Oxon Hill, Maryland.

The program will be available to those living in the six-mile radius of the casino in District 8 and some border areas of District 7.

The program was initially funded at $1 million, but the County Council recently allocated another $1 million to serve more residents and extend the program.

“When I was elected to the County Council I was shocked to learn that this fund was primarily being used to pay for government services that our tax dollars already pay for in the southern part of the County,” said Burroughs. “As a result, I rewrote major parts of the plan, and over the next year, we will roll out transformational initiatives like this one. Education is the great equalizer when we talk about combating poverty and crime, and we must expand opportunities through education.”

The program is expected to impact over 1,000 new and current students.