Needing Students, Maine School Hunts in China

Growth can deliver economic revival. Though an anti-immigration stance enjoys populist success in some regions of the US, other politicians recognize that immigration contributes a quick budget recharge. Courting foreign students for education programs provides some of immigration's benefits with no permanent ties. A public schools superintendent in Maine hopes to balance his budget by enticing 100 Chinese students willing to pay $27,000 in tuition – more than double China's average annual household income. “With China’s emergence as an economic juggernaut, colleges, universities and private secondary schools have tried to recruit students from China and have even opened campuses there,” writes Abby Goodnough for the New York Times. The Millinocket proposal is the first such plan among public schools. The small town boasts of natural beauty and fresh air, but has numerous vacant storefronts and outdated school features including a single advanced-placement class and maps that show the Soviet Union. – YaleGlobal