Legislature 2008: PROMISE (Updated)

The Charleston Gazette finds that the governor's proposed change to the merit-based scholarship program has precedent in West Virginia.

"Two state scholarship programs aimed at students in specific fields, the Underwood-Smith Teacher Scholarship Program and West Virginia Engineering, Science and Technology Scholarship Program, offer financial incentives to students in exchange for their agreement to work in the state for a set number of years after graduation," the newspaper reports.

The Gazette also finds more lawmakers questioning this Manchin agenda item, as does the Herald-Dispatch of Huntington.

Update: Former Gov. Bob Wise, who found funding for (corrected from "started;" sorry, my bad) PROMISE at the start of his term, weighs in on his successor's proposed changes to the Charleston Daily Mail.

"Wise said that would undermine the original intent of the Promise Scholarship program, which is to encourage students to excel in high school and go on to college, preferably in the state," the newspaper reported.