From Joel Dresang of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Together, the public schools of southeastern Wisconsin have a regional economic impact nearly as big as the University of Wisconsin-Madison, according to a report released Wednesday.... (David J. Ward, founder and president of NorthStar Economics Inc.) figures that the seven-county region's high school dropouts cost the area more than $1.5 billion a year, in lower income, lower taxes and increased service costs.... "That could be a key to fixing the economy of this area," Ward told staff at the School District of South Milwaukee. Ward presented research prepared for the Southeastern Wisconsin Schools Alliance, an advocacy group representing 33 school districts in Kenosha, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Racine, Walworth, Washington and Waukesha counties.... Over a working life of 50 years or so, the average dropout earns about $425,000 less than the average graduate.... Including lost tax revenue and higher costs for health, safety and welfare services associated with lower-income families, the lifetime costs exceed $552,000 per dropout.

The study is not yet online, but will be added here when it becomes available.

Three observations:

• With the right basic education through high school, citizens contribute to the taxbase. Without it, the taxbase contributes to them. It's the classic case of "pay me now or pay me later." Society can do what's required to get kids where they need to be - call it leave no child behind, or it can pay to support those kids in some way throughout their working lives.

• Here's a group of influentials that should be amenable to research showing the effectiveness of school improvement providers' educational practices, particularly when they can be translated into the financial impact on districts and the economic effects on the tax base - when compared to do nothing and to alternatives a district might pursue.

• This approach to marketing is beyond the present capacity of most providers' marketing staffs, indeed most providers' management teams. Consequently, it could be a source of competitive advantage to the firms that start learning how now. Or it could be something providers ask from their trade groups.