Column: Local schools vital to future work force

Today's schools are producing tomorrow's employees. If a business wants to relocate or expand its operation to a community with the best possible labor pool, it's very important to know what kind of work force the local schools are developing.

The quality of schools can tip the balance when a relocating family and/or company weights a community's good and bad attributes. Too often, the choice is influenced by a real estate agent's hearsay that the schools are great or ought to be because the tax rate is high. There are more useful ways to compare school districts.

A good district can give you a written philosophy or a statement of educational objectives approved within the last five years by the state Board of Education. You can obtain an "Accountability Report" from both the Carson and Douglas school districts at 885-6300 and 782-5134 respectively.

The classroom teachers in a secondary school district should have not only a standard certificate but also, in 50 percent of the cases or better, at least a master's degree in the subject they teach.

Nationally, just eight of 10 ninth graders will eventually graduate from high school. A district's holding power; that is, the percentage of ninth grade pupils who stay in school and finish, should be at least 90 percent.

If at least 95 percent of a district's enrollment is in average daily attendance, that's a good indication of how closely parents and schools keep tabs on children. Nationally, the average daily attendance is 90 percent; in some districts, it is a good deal less. Carson City's average daily attendance is 92 percent and Douglas County reports 93 percent.

New and expanding companies compare dollars per student figures. Above average amounts may not tell the entire story., The question they ask of administrators is how much of that amount comes from the district's own sources. Too much dependence on federal and state money may point to trouble. Carson spends $5,000 per student while Douglas County spends $5,300.

When an employer looks at a potential work force, they want to know about two things; our work ethic and the talent of our work force.

College board test scores are pretty straight-forward. Students around the country take the same test and the results are simple to compare. This measurement focuses only on what the results were, not on why.

The other element: Staying in school and graduating, is important not only as a measurement of education, but also as an indicator of work ethic. What this shows is that the students, our future employees, had the self-discipline and the drive to finish school.

According to Expansion Management Magazine's annual "Education Quotient Survey" of the nation's secondary school districts, both Carson City and Douglas County were ranked among the highest and awarded a Blue Ribbon Ranking. This means we achieve excellent graduate outcome results while spending at, or below, the national average. These school districts give our communities the greatest bang for the buck.

The attitudes and habits, both good and bad, that students adopt will remain with them for the rest of their lives. If they drop out of high school, chances are good that they will fail to complete tasks their entire life long; not exactly the type of employee a prospective business would want.

Our community has no greater responsibility than the education of our children. It's an investment in the economic future that will go a long way in determining what kind of community - economically, physically, culturally, quality of life - will exist here 10 or 20 years from now.

Remember, as businesses consider investing in our community, they know that there is nothing more important as the quantity and quality of the local labor pool. They need to be trainable and possess a solid work ethic. The best formula ever offered about what makes schooling "good" is the simplest. Three things are required; good students, good teachers and good parents. If we're missing one of the three, success is still possible. If we're out two of them, it's all over. Take a look at who's swimming in our labor pool.

(Kris Holt is the executive director of the Northern Nevada Development Authority.)