What has government done to lower the dropout rate in schools (besides changing definitions)? What do you think the latest state grant worth $150,000 awarded to Asheville’s YWCA will do? A vogue argument used these days is that grants are valid uses of taxpayer dollars because, unlike earmarks, they select recipients through a competitive process.

In another article, Asheville City Schools’ Superintendent Allen Johnson stated:

I feel like one of the greatest accomplishments for our school district was receiving the Department of Public Instruction impact grant. We received a couple of those [grants] thus far, which has provided over $2 million of instructional equipment.

The article concludes that in spite of gunfire in the high school, one of Johnson’s top priorities for next year will be making sure each student has a laptop. He intends to achieve his goal with another state grant.