Middletown Promise

Yes John, at an annual cost of $30 to $40 million. Again, I ask the question- Where will this scholarship money come from? This school system is already strapped for money according to the school folks. Will this money be paid by the state?(taxpayer money) By the school? (taxpayer money) To "pay" a family to locate to Middletown is avoiding the real issue here. This is basically a bribe to live here. Why not put as much effort into improving the schools as they do in obtaining the money for programs like this? If the schools had a decent reputation for educating the kids, there would not be a need for a program like this because families would migrate to a decent performing school system on their own. Improving the performance of the schools is certainly cheaper than the $30-$40 million/year to pay them to come here and much more constructive. Futhermore, after their kids start attending Middletown schools, they may wonder what they got themselves into and some may not want to stay the required time to participate in the program. The "Promise" program will still be offering the same scholastic deficient program that we have now. Seems to me that this will be alot of money spent with potential limited success. Offering scholarships to people won't change the perception nor the performance of the schools. One more thing- where did the feasibility study money come from? Story doesn't say. Shouldn't we be asking these questions?

Yes and if the program is not a success, it will have cost someone ? (state or city) mega bucks to find out it was a failure. Seems like a risky venture when you already know the deck is stacked against you. John, I admire your optimism and hope you are correct in your assumption of success. However, I'm a realist and like to examine the odds of success before plunging into anything. To me, this program and it's intentions do not seem to be a good bet, given the known obstacles it must overcome to be a success. Perhaps I tend to be overcautious and conservative in my thinking but there is that little thing about spending the people's money in a responsible way and not throwing it away on high risk ventures.Again, for the third time, I ask the question- Where will the $30-$40 million come from on an annual basis?- State funded or Middletown schools funded and if Middletown schools funded, where did they find the money? Article doesn't say. Wouldn't that be,oh, kind of important to know?

Ah, yes.  The old "Is the glass half full or half empty?" question!