Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
By Susan Gobreski

The federal government has sent a clear message: Improving our education system must be a national priority. An unprecedented amount of money is coming to Pennsylvania to be spent on education. We must spend it well.

Everybody depends on a quality public education system, whether they have children in public schools or not. We want our neighbors to get good jobs and buy houses. We want people to earn good wages and pay taxes. We want the workforce to be strong and well paid when we collect Social Security. We want fewer dollars paying for social services and prisons, which means equipping people for self-sufficiency and responsibility.

We don’t pay merely to educate our own children, we pay so we can live in an educated society. Education is critical for a middle-class life and a chance to get ahead; it strengthens the economy for individuals and communities.

A recent report, “Pennsylvania’s Best Investment: The Social and Economic Benefits of Public Education” (Penn State University) released by the Education Law Center, makes the case for the benefits of education in Pennsylvania. Some highlights:

* Average public health costs for dropouts are $2,700 per person vs. $1,000 for high school graduates and $170 for college graduates.
* The cost of incarcerating someone is $31,900 per year vs. the $8,698 annual cost of providing a student what is defined as an “adequate” education.
* The state share of total education spending in Pennsylvania has fallen from more than 50 percent in 1975 to only 36 percent in 2007.

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