by Wendell Cayton

Last year I met with a friend who was concerned about the state of the local economy and how it would impact his young family. We discussed a number of options including selling his expensive home and relocating to a less expensive environment. To my surprise, that is exactly what he and his family did…sold the home and moved to a community in Central California.

When I asked “Why there?” The answer was one word…“schools”. His wife, a former CIO in a large San Francisco firm, and now a stay-at-home mom, used the Internet to research California schools. She found, arguably, the best Northern California school system for her young boys.

When they visited the community, they were impressed by the level and quality of instruction, the clean, well-maintained schools, the willingness of the community to fund education, and the active involvement of the parents. They found teachers excited about their profession…who were paid enough to live above the poverty level.

This is but a small anecdotal commentary on the value good schools bring to a community. Any realtor with an ounce of experience will tell you that good schools enhance real estate values—they upgrade the quality of life for the entire community, making it a more desirable place to live. Crime rates are lower in communities with good schools. And good schools train their graduates to make a positive contribution to their community.

Most families have three financial goals: Educate their children, pay their taxes, and prepare for a comfortable retirement.

Education and retirement are inextricably linked. The archenemy of retirement is inflation. A well-educated and productive workforce keeps inflation down. Retirement dollars go further in a low inflationary environment.

Many retirement plans are built around extracting value from real estate, either by selling and downsizing, or through equity withdrawal such as reverse mortgages.

There was a survey conducted a few years ago by Runzheimer International (a management consulting firm based in Rochester, WI), and SchoolMatch (a school information and counseling service). Their research studied over 16,000 school districts nationwide and correlated property values to the quality of the school as measured by pupil performance on scholarship exams. Their findings conclusively supported assumptions that good schools add value to the property in the area.

Supporting good education requires tax dollars. Unfortunately, many misguided individuals take a shortsighted approach to this process by resisting all efforts to improve the schools. Their arguments are specious and self-serving, often grounded in rhetoric that has nothing to do with the educational process.

If these arguments are allowed to prevail, over the long run, the “best and brightest” will leave the community for better education and not return to contribute. The quality of life in the community will gradually lessen to the lowest common denominator.

“To resist is to drive down the value of property. To not support is to degrade your local community. In my mind that is like allowing your yard to go to seed, your plants to die, your house to go unpainted…in other words, an investment in local schools can the be the most important investment you make in your home!”