Conversations about return on investment in our public schools look at a broad range of variables both in terms of education outputs such as high school graduation rates and post-secondary participation and completion rates, as well as community-based impacts such as economic indicators, projected tax revenues and projected public costs such as health care, social services and criminal justice.

Twin Cities Compass, a project of the Itasca Project and Wilder Research, tracks topics that impact our quality of life, including civic engagement, early childhood, economy and workforce, education, health, housing, public safety and transportation.

Economic Prosperity

Perhaps the seminal document for understanding the connection between public school investment and economic prosperity is John Fitzpatrick's June 2003 report, Business Cycles and Long-Term Growth: Lessons from Minnesota, which draws a historical connection between Minnesota's rapid annual per capita income growth and increased educational attainment, Federal Reserve Bank of Minnesota.

In October of 2005, the Itasca Project released the Mind the Gap report, raising a call to action to reduce disparities to improve regional competitiveness:

"The demographic changes in store for the region demand attention.
If ignored, growing race, class, and place disparities will hamper the region’s future workforce and overall economic health."
—Executive Summary

In collaboration with the Brookings Institution, the Itasca Project has undertaken several follow-up efforts, most recently resulting in the Fall 2008 version of Close the Gap:  A Business Response To our Region’s Growing Disparities (Power Point)

"In spite of our overall economic strength, there are three stark and growing socioeconomic gaps in the Twin Cities – gaps tied to race, class, and place – which threaten to undermine our region’s future.
Closing these gaps now is not just the right thing to do,
but the smart thing to do."
— The Itasca Project

As early as 2004, Minnesota State Economist Tom Stinson and Tom Gillaspy, Minnesota State Demographer, began raising concerns about the ramifications of the retiring baby boom generation, growing diversity, and workforce development. In January 2009, they delivered the following presentation at a forum hosted by the Roseville Area Schools Legislative Action Committee, Why Invest in Education — Even in Difficult Times?

• January 2010 - 2020 Foresight: State Demographer Tom Gillaspy says Minnesota will have a major labor shortage 10 years from now. Only productivity gains will save the state's economy, Twin Cities Business January 2010.

  "The greatest risk is that we forget where we came from. In the early ’50s, we were a below-average income state, a below-average education state. What we did as a state was push on education and we developed a world-class, world-renowned work force. We also created a place that people like to come to, even though it’s cold and out of the way. We were a state that worked."

• January 2009 - But What About Tomorrow? - Economic growth will depend increasingly on productivity growth: Education Is The Key To Productivity, Tom Stinson, Minnesota State Economist and Tom Gillaspy, Minnesota State Demographer (PDF File).
  
  
• July 25, 2008 - Meeting Summary - Presentation by Minnesota State Demographer Tom Gillaspy, The Governor’s 21st Century Tax Reform Commission.

In addition, Growth & Justice has been conducting an ongoing investigation and community conversation on how education investment drives prosperity through their Smart Investments in Minnesota's Students initiative.

• October 2008 - A Research-Based Investment Proposal - Let's change the conversation about education.
  
  
• November 2007 - Investments in K-12 Education for Minnesota: What Works? - A cost-benefit analysis of selected K-12 education reforms, Growth & Justice Smart Investments Summit.
  
  
• January 2007 - Invest for Real Prosperity - Real Prosperity grows from a foundation of public investment in education, health care and smart infrastructure, including roads, transit and development density, Growth & Justice.
  
  

• February 2004 - Workforce First - A practical and affordable path toward a strong Minnesota economy and a decent standard of living for all, Growth & Justice.

Additional Resources

More from rethinglearningnow.com

October 17, 2008 - Investment in Education Equals Economic Prosperity - Investment in education is an investment in your pocketbook. Research conclusively shows that when Minnesotans invest in education, the result is a skilled workforce that creates a vibrant, robust economy despite the cost of the initial investment. That workforce and economy attracts more businesses which raises wages, creates jobs and brings the high quality of living Minnesotans demand, Minnesota 2020.

August 11, 2008 - North Star fading? As population ages, state faces complex challenges in restoring its economic luster - Research done by Terry Fitzgerald, now an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, still stands as one of the most definitive summaries of the Minnesota economy's ascent to star status.... How did Minnesota do it? In his article, Fitzgerald suggested that much of the explanation rests in rising levels of education in Minnesota relative to the nation, MinnPost.

July 29, 2008 - It's the skills gap, and it's a long-term, serious threat - Why did the United States become the leading economic power of the 20th century? The best short answer is that a ferocious belief that people have the power to transform their own lives gave Americans an unparalleled commitment to education, hard work and economic freedom, Pioneer Press.

June 5, 2008 - Tax Protest Puts "Me" Over "We," The UpTtake (Email release).

 

June 4, 2008 - Minnesota's Slip Toward Mediocrity: Less Investment, Less Return - Since 1995, state and local government revenues and expenditures in Minnesota have declined relative to the rest of the nation. This investment lag has been particularly dramatic since 2002, and it corresponds with significant declines in Minnesota's prosperity, educational achievement and quality of life compared with other states. While Minnesota is not an economic "basket case," we no longer shine with the luster we once did, , Minnesota 2020.