Guilford County school superintendent Terry Grier would like to add more Learn and Earn/Early College programs to the county school system. County commissioners granted Grier $4 million last year for the program but an additional $2 million would be required for school building renovations to house future programs. According to the article, it is unlikely that the commissioners will give Grier the additional $2 million.
Was the money well spent? The article claims that,
For the most part, Grier’s ground-breaking middle and early college initiatives have paid handsome dividends. Students who might have dropped out have stayed in school. Many have blossomed in the nontraditional settings.
Let’s say that the program helped 100 kids stay in school and/or blossom. That means that, last year alone, the district would have spent $40,000 on each potential dropout or un-blossomed child. Why not just pay them $10,000 cash to stay in school or get on with blossoming?
