TOPS has lost it way

It is obvious that our state legislators lack spines when it comes to making recommendations about TOPS.  Perhaps a solution to the problem would be to treat the review of the program as a murder trial.

The first step would be the selection of an unbiased jury (committee).  No one selected could have any connection with the program.  Members could not have benefited from TOPS with their own children, grandchildren, or have any relatives or friends that benefited. They also could not have dealt with any legislation involving the funding or defunding of TOPS.

Furthermore, members of the committee would only be permitted to pass judgement on TOPS based upon facts relating to its initial historical creation.

If held to these standards I’d bet we’d be lucky to find even one legislator that could serve on the committee, and therein lies the problem with any group of legislators summoned to make recommendations about changes to TOPS, total bias.

TOPS was created and paid for by Mr. Patrick Taylor as a reward for low income children performing well above average academically.  The reward was a paid college education.  He chose an inner city school population in New Orleans to implement his program. 

Over the years the program was bastardized when funding was taken over by the state and turned into a college welfare program for the masses.   The demonstration of high academic achievement has been intentionally pushed to the side and discussions now are totally focused on providing the greatest number of students possible with a free college, jr. college, or trade school education at the taxpayers’ expense.  There are other options for the masses including student loans, grants, work study subsidies, etc.

If one examines the FACTS, this was never the intent or mission of Mr. Taylor’s program.    Its factual intent was crystal clear, to be privately funded and serve low income students demonstrating high academic performance.

Sadly, even the Taylor Foundation has lost sight of this intent by repeatedly backing the current structure of TOPS and resisting any changes which would return TOPS to its true mission.

Quantity vs quality is now the motto for a great deal of the products and services we as a society now rely on.  Let’s  not permit TOPS to be just another example of that paradigm; TOPS needs to be returned back to its roots, private funding for lower income, high performing students. The problem is who will have the courage to do this?