Overshadowed by events in Paris last week, President Barack Obama’s proposal to make community college free to students who maintain good grades deserves a national discussion.

Commentators often point out that the cost of such a plan, with the federal government paying three-quarters of the cost, would be about $60 billion over 10 years. Given that price tag, fiscally conservative Republicans now in control of Congress are not expected to support the idea, unless budget cuts elsewhere are made to pay for it.

But even if Obama’s idea is seen as unworkable, Congress should look for alternatives.

Unemployment has slowly dropped following the Great Recession while underemployment, which is hard to calculate, is still stubbornly high. A better educated workforce would improve both those figures. Proof of that is found in the fact that the unemployment rate for people with a college education is about half that of the rate for people whose formal education stopped at high school.

There was a time, 40 or 50 years ago, when a high school graduate had plenty of job prospects and the probability of a middle-income life. More recently, however, most jobs and career paths to the middle class require a college degree.

For those reasons alone — to lower unemployment and provide more people with a path to middle class — it’s worth looking at universal access to community college. If it’s not Obama’s proposal, then something else. Those in Congress opposed to Obama’s idea should not just say “no way” — they should offer alternatives or a compromise plan.

Community colleges have much to offer both students and employers, and a national debate over Obama’s idea should focus attention on their value. Community colleges offer a gentler transition to students who might not be sure about college. Tuition costs are much lower than at four-year schools and they also allow people to live at home, without room and board expenses.

Community colleges, because of open enrollment policies, have had to create remedial courses to help those students who graduated from high school without a solid foundation in math, reading or writing skills.

How such a disturbingly high number of students graduate from high school, yet require remedial classes, is another topic for debate. One step in the right direction would have community colleges generate public reports showing which high school’s graduates required the most remedial work, which should put pressure on those public schools to do a better job.

Community colleges are also well known for offering job-specific training or workforce development. A broad liberal arts education will always be valuable and a core part of many four-year universities, but job-focused programs probably provide more economic bang for the education buck.

Obama says his program is modeled after one in Tennessee. One difference is that Tennessee offers “last dollar” assistance, meaning the state pays community college costs after the student has exhausted all grant and scholarship money. Obama proposes that the federal program offer “first dollar” assistance.

Many students and their parents already know that two years of community college followed by a transfer to a four-year university can save tens of thousands of dollars. And at a time when student debt in the United States has topped $1 trillion, and now exceeds total credit card debt, those savings are critical to millions of Americans. Reducing student debt should be a national priority.

Instead of greeting Obama’s proposal with a “dead on arrival” attitude, Republicans in Congress should offer ideas that could produce a workable compromise that expands education to more Americans without burdensome debt.

In today’s world, it’s easy to argue that something beyond high school should be free. Fifty years ago, a high school graduate was well equipped to land a good job. Today, a high school degree is not enough for many, if not most jobs.

The long-established U.S. policy of free public education to grade 12 should be updated to include at least one year after high school — either at a community college or at a trade or technical school where job-focused skills are taught.

Obama’s proposal deserves debate and both sides in that debate should be open to a compromise solution to expand education in America. It’s good for the economy, it’s good for Americans and their families. It’s good for the future.