Study Shows Return on Investment of County’s Education Funding

Anne Arundel County Councilman Jerry Walker presented yesterday at the Maryland Association of Boards of Education Conference in Ocean City.  Councilman Walker presented alongside members of the Anne Arundel County School Board, and Salisbury University’s Business, Economic, and Community Outreach Network (BEACON) about a study of the return on investment in education in Anne Arundel County.

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Table 5 from the report, The Economic Value of the Anne Arundel County, Maryland, Public School System: Dollars & Cents and Beyond

The 2014 study, which was funded by the school board, found that:

  • For every $1 million in Anne Arundel County Public Schools capital spending, 7.56 additional jobs are supported in the county.
  • Based on the improved college-readiness of AACPS seniors, approximately $1.95 billion in additional lifetime earnings can be attributed to AACPS graduates that are forecasted to successfully graduate college. The present value of the county income tax to be paid on these additional earnings is approximately $34.94 million per graduating class.
  • The additional economic activity generated by AACPS graduates who work and spend in the county positively impacts property values and property tax revenues. Each graduating class is estimated to add nearly $149 million in real property values and $1.41 million in real property tax revenues.
  • Over the past five years, each AACPS graduating class has been associated with approximately $200 million in savings in future public health-care costs, over $130 million in savings in future crime related costs, and over $15 Million in future welfare costs.

BEACON conducted a similar study for county school boards on the Eastern Shore through the Eastern Shore of Maryland Educational Consortium.  Representatives of BEACON indicated that it could be repeated for other counties in Maryland.

For more information, see this coverage from the Baltimore Sun, or read the full study, The Economic Value of the Anne Arundel County,
Maryland, Public School System: Dollars & Cents and Beyond.

The Maryland Association of Boards of Education Annual Conference is ongoing. Councilman Jerry Walker is a member of the MACo Board.