Improved Economic Development

Quality education attracts business to a community and a state. In fact, Money magazine (November 1994) identified an educated workforce as one of the top five characteristics common to "winning cities".Quality-of-life is "the most influential location decision-making factor" for businesses, and "economic development professionals consistently rank education at or near the top of the list." (Segedy, 1997.)

Similarly, the Brookings Institute found that 72% of business leaders report workforce quality as the most significant factor in choosing where to locate-tax incentives were less important than education in location decisions. (Source: "Business Location Decision-Making and the Cities: Bringing Companies Back," 2000.)