This year Wake's school population grew by 5,500. Last year it was 4,500. The forecast was 3,500/yr. Couple this hyper-growth with the Wake County Commissioners decision to cut $417 million (45%) from the school boards proposed construction budget and the result is more trailers and possibly even classrooms in storefronts.

It's easy to understand the County Commissioners' school financing decisions. They said their cut avoided a tax increase (Let's take them at their word but they could have reconsidered their other spending sacred cows). Ditto for a decision to give the school board $5 million less than requested for funding teachers. Consider the constant background chorus of politicians promising not to increase taxes. Or the well organized anti-tax campaigns of Cary's own Representative Russell Capps and his Wake Taxpayers Association. How could Wake's Commissioners vote otherwise under these circumstances? The commissioners' claim - "waste", the old standby excuse still believed despite independent audits to the contrary.

Why did so few among the public protest? Wake has a widely acclaimed school system, the test scores are high and most of us didn't see much of a raise this year. Many of us are lucky we have a job. Who needs another tax increase?

Those are thoughts that you may have...but maybe, with the Wake County Commissioners pulling the trigger, we are in-fact shooting ourselves in the foot. That's one conclusion to be drawn from the latest studies on the impact of public schools on economic development. (http://www.kwfdn.org/ProgramAreas/Facilities/weiss_book.pdf).

This white-paper summarizes the impact of public schools on housing prices. One study cites a relocation consultant, who notes that parents show up in her office with "test scores in hand". In another study in Florida, buyers were willing to pay as much as 14% more for a house in an area where schools scored an "A" rather than a "B" on a statewide "report card". Looking at two adjacent school districts in Cleveland, another researcher found that homes gained $5,000 to $12,000 in value in the district perceived to have better schools - despite that district paying $350-$900 per year more in taxes (a similar scenario applies to Chapel Hill vs. Cary ). Other studies reveal that home buyers value high expenditures per pupil; small class size and schools that are renovated and well maintained. A study published by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia notes that school spending is highly supported by elderly homeowners. The authors theorize that elderly citizens recognize the value of good schools to future buyers.

These correlations are especially pertinent considering the weak performance of housing prices in this area. Over the last five years housing prices in the Triangle rose only 18.6%, ranking in the bottom 10% of 220 metropolitan areas. http://www.cnsfn.com/cgi-bin/cnshpind.pl?dt=06_31_04

In areas where jobs were more available, increases of 30% to 90% were typical.

Jobs are the key to economic development - particularly high paying jobs. Spending by well-paid middle-class job holders benefits everyone in the community. Employers want to keep their employees happy and typically seek out areas offering a high quality of life. The above white-paper cites numerous studies showing confirming that high quality public schools enhance economic development and jobs.

The quality of our schools grows more important when one considers the loss of many thousands of high-paying high-tech jobs in Cary and Wake. While employment is currently moving upwards, the gains are frequently in jobs paying 30% to 50% less than those lost. While unemployment is declining, the number of jobs created in Wake County over the past four years has risen less than 6% whereas the population has risen over 15%. Cary and Wake are far from full employment.

Our global competitors, particularly in India and China, are increasing their expenditures on public education so that they can better compete for high quality jobs. Are you really comfortable with the Wake County Commissioners' tight-fisted spending for schools? It's easy to grow weary over frequent requests for new funds for public schools. But stop a minute and consider that Wake's schools had to add over 10,000 seats over the last two years. No one likes higher taxes. But stop and ask: are we shooting ourselves in the foot when we allow our public schools to lag growth?