The city of Syracuse, NY may be on the eastern edge of the rust belt. Its main economic drivers for more than a half century were Syracuse University and a large number of industrial plants. The two principal industrial plants were the Carrier Corporation (air conditioning and heat plants) and General Motors (mainly transmissions). The GM plant shut down, and Carrier sent its production to China and to other states (Indiana, for example). Other smaller plants that provided services to the big ones also shut down or reduced their operations. This sent the city into a tail spin, and many of the wealthier citizens of the city moved to the suburbs for better schools and for lower taxes and to get away from poor people.


For the last decade or longer, the city has engaged in economic redevelopment to revive the city. My son has been part of that. One of their efforts was to vastly improve the city schools so that people who had moved to the suburbs would return. Part of their effort to improve the schools is a tuition guarantee program that pays for college tuition, fees, and books to anyone who graduates from a city high school and who attended for at least the last three years of high school. The program also provides tutoring and counseling to any student who is performing poorly in the city school system (through grade school and high school).


My youngest grandchild is benefiting from this program. The city is paying her tuition, fees, and book costs to attend Syracuse University. She will begin her third year in early 2017. The program is described here:


Say Yes Tuition Guarantee Information | The Syracuse City School District | Syracuse, NY


My son is on the board of directors of this program. He tells me that it has an endowment of $25 million and that it is sustainable for the indefinite future.


It seems to me that other cities can adopt such programs for their students to insure that their young people can get a college education.