While I concede that schools are generally underfunded, the program is a waste of time and money. Why? Because is leaves out the most important factor: motivation. You can have science programs, science fairs, etc., but without some guiding motivation, it all leads to nowhere. I like the old saying that "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink." Our problem today is that we can't lead our kids to science. They just aren't interested. And you blame them? The text reads like: Phase 1: put money into schools and partner with corporations, Phase 2:???, Phase 3: We're #1 .
You can't just tell a kid you need to learn science because it's cool. You have to present a problem first. Not some pansy rhetoric about "moving our country from the middle to the top of the pack in science and math." A real problem. One that the government is ready to put money into to accomplish a concrete goal. Like how to detect incoming aircraft without seeing them, split an atom, or getting a man to the moon and safely returning him to the Earth [before the Soviets]. Frankly, WW2 and the Space Program of the 60s is what led the US to being first in math & science.
If we want to match that level of science, math and engineering, we need to figure out a national goal and put up the $50 billion to really solve problems that require new kinds of sciences. I don't know what those problems are, maybe fusion power (I've always been told it's fifty years away), or machines that remove excess CO2 from the atmosphere, or clean the oceans.
It comes down to this: If the government won't get serious and really invest in math & science, why should kids?