[gblake]

Your original post only mentions FIRST. Why will the presentation only ask for funding for FIRST teams and coaches? Doing that would be doing a huge disservice to Virginia's STEM robotics community.

Right off the bat it's easy to notice that both FIRST and the RECF have a strong presence in Virginia. I firmly believe that both are strong because both fill important needs.

Additionally, there are other effective STEM programs getting traction in the state.

I believe that any proposal to distribute tax dollars for the STEM education purposes you are addressing, should allow each local recipient (at some level of abstraction) to choose a program that fits their needs. I think that is wise for new programs, and doubly wise for locations that already have established programs.

Playing favorites or creating a skewed perception of what each/all of the programs can contribute to a total STEM education picture would be neither gracious nor professional when tax dollars are being asked to pay for the result.

An exception would be if you introduced the committee to all the significant programs, gave a balanced description of what each offers, and then explicitly told them you wanted to encourage them to support one of the programs because it was a personal favorite (after making them aware of the bigger picture).

I think an unbiased assessment of the both the bigger, and the niche STEM programs available in Virginia, will show that each has a place in the state's spectrum of end-user needs, abilities, and budgets; and with that in mind I think the subject is too important for us to tackle using only one of the tools in our toolbox.

This has always been my conclusion when I compared the various programs on paper, and when I voted with my volunteer hours.

Can I/we count on the presenters to educate the committee about more than just FIRST programs?

Blake