Monday, March 06, 2000
Consider investing in schools
BY CLIFF RADEL
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Before voting Tuesday, remember this: High school dropouts don't make the grade.
They earn less and cost society more than classmates possessing a high school diploma. Census data prove it. And the facts make a strong case for thinking twice before voting down a school levy.
The presidential primary election on Super Tuesday will include 15 school levies on the ballots in Butler, Clermont, Warren and Hamilton counties. I'm not telling anyone how to vote. Passing a levy won't solve all of society's ills.
But, consider this before marking a ballot: School levies are designed to keep kids in class and help them earn a high school diploma.
The higher the graduation rate, the better off the community. High school graduates have bigger paychecks, hold better jobs and pay more taxes than dropouts.
A levy's money can be dedicated to reducing class size so teachers can give more individual attention to struggling students, the goal of one of Cincinnati Public Schools' two levies.
The tax dollars can also be destined for building new schools, planned for the Lakota, Talawanda and Mason school districts. Or, the funds can be targeted to update classroom technology, an agenda item for Mariemont Schools' tax levy.
No matter how a school tax will be spent, levies aim to help kids graduate, so they can reap the benefits along with the rest of society.
“A good education is not only the most significant predictor of a good lifestyle,” said George Vredeveld, director of the University of Cincinnati's Center for Economic Education. “It is the engine that drives economic development and makes other things possible in a city.”
His research backs up his words. Even so, he knows voters remain reluctant to pass school tax levies “because they're costly and people can't see what they're getting for their money.”
Taxpayers can see Paul Brown Stadium going up even as the price tag for the Bengals complex creeps toward the $500 million mark. They can see what they are getting for the $10 million deal to start putting a cover over Fort Washington Way.
Voters might see school tax levies differently if they looked at research comparing income and education. A 1992 Center for Economic Education report and federal studies from 1994 and 1998 arrived at the same finding: The difference in income between a high school dropout and a graduate is $6,000 a year.
“This is the strongest relationship we have ever seen between two variables,” said Robert Bernstein of the U.S. Census Bureau. “Every time we look at this data, it holds true.”
Do the math
Imagine what the impact would be on the local economy if Cincinnati Public Schools raised its graduation rate from the present 65 per cent to 85 per cent.
In 1999, CPS graduated 1,330 students. If the number increased by 266, that would add $1.6 million to those individuals' combined annual income. Multiply that figure by an adult's work life of 40 years and that results in $63.8 million spread out over four decades. To put that figure into perspective, it's slightly more than half of what the Reds are paying Ken Griffey Jr. for nine seasons.
Statewide, the impact of undereducated adults far exceeds Junior's contract with the Reds. In a 1992 study, the Center for Economic Education toted up the annual cost of high school dropouts to Ohio. The figures are staggering: $8 billion in lost earnings; $270 million in lost tax revenues. Add them together and they could pay for 20 Bengals stadium complexes or 641 big-league seasons for the services of Ken Griffey Jr.
There are also hidden costs from undereducated adults. The center's study cited national figures noting that dropouts were at least twice as likely as high school graduates to be unemployed and spend time behind bars.
These statistics seldom show up in arguments for passing tax levies to build new schools, fix leaky roofs or buy more laptops. But on Election Day, they are something to consider.
Columnist Cliff Radel can be reached at 768-8379; fax 768-8340.
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