MILLINOCKET, Maine (AP) — Northern Maine is 7,000 miles and a world away from China, but that's not stopping a school superintendent there from recruiting Chinese students to attend public high school in this remote mill town.
Faced with declining enrollments and shrinking revenues, public school districts from Maine to California are seeking out students from overseas, particularly China, to attend their high schools.
At least two public schools in Maine have 10 tuition-paying Chinese students in classes this year, and Millinocket Superintendent Ken Smith says he's planning to have at least 60 Chinese students next year who would pay $24,000 each in tuition, room and board.
A student recruitment agency says a growing number of school districts in large cities and small towns alike are doing the same across the country.
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