If Ohio has a brain drain problem — and it most certainly does — Ashtabula County has one that's even worse.
What I'm talking about is the best and brightest of our students getting a good high school education here and then moving elsewhere, so another community, often far-flung from us, enjoys the fruits of those labors.
Let me explain further. County taxpayers, often through property taxes, spend thousands and thousands of dollars to educate our children. A recent Beacon story reported that Pierpont students who left Buckeye schools in favor of Pymatuning took with them $5,700 each in state money. Multiply that by 13 for an education in Kindergarten through Grade 12 and that's $68,400.
Add to that what the local district invests, which can be more or less than the state, and you could easily have $100,000 or more. Of course, funding levels change with inflation and the economy, but any way you cut it, local and state taxpayers are shelling out a lot for each student.
Now let's say the bright and best student takes his or her $100,000 high school diploma and goes to a state college, where taxpayers are again subsidizing. From there, he or she goes off to Oshkosh, Wis., where a job is available in his or her field. From there that person becomes a productive citizen, pays big taxes because he or she earns a big salary, then contributes to the local center for the arts and youth sporting events in Oshkosh..
Meanwhile, those left in places like Ashtabula County must work harder to educate the next class that takes the moolah and finds a job in Pismo Beach.
It's a serious problem and may at least partially be addressed by Grants for Grads. It's being administered by the Ohio Housing Finance Agency.
Simply put, you are from Ohio, are educated here and get your university degree (bachelor, masters, doctorate) from a public or private school in the Buckeye State. Within 18 months of graduating, you could be eligible for up to 2.5 percent of the purchase price of a home.
You could use the money for a down payment or closing costs. If you move during the first year, you repay the money. If you stay in the house five years, you don't have to pay it back.
As you can imagine, there will be all sorts of conditions. It appears you must get the loan through the First-Time Buyer Program.
All of the rules and regulations were being worked out and when first proposed, money was to be distributed via a lottery. Whether that is still the case, I don't know.
Learn more at http://www.ohiohome.org/homebuyer/.
The trouble is, educated people aren't going to stay in Ohio because they can get help buying a home. They move somewhere because they can get a good job in the field they are educated in at a nice salary. If you are unemployed or are working at Wal-Mart after getting your master's degree, you aren't going to buy a home, even if the state gives you 2.5 percent.
If we want to stop the brain drain in our region, we have to create competitive employment. This past spring when you saw stories in this newspaper about talented, smart kids obtaining awards and scholarships, did you think any of them would end up returning here to live? Not much chance.
We have a much better chance of retaining those kids who will soon be kicked out of the Youth Detention Center than the best and brightest. Heck, with the Lake Erie Correctional Institution in Conneaut, we can retain those YDC alumnus even when they are off on an occasional jaunt to prison before returning to sell drugs and live on food stamps.
The most we parents can hope for is for our bright students to locate around Cleveland or maybe Pittsburgh. But the Cleveland area has lost nearly 60,000 residents since 2000. It's not faring any better than we are.
One of staff writer Carl Feather's stories in his Reality Check series of a few years ago targeted smart kids leaving the area. (The stories are still available at www.starbeacon.com.)
He found it is difficult to get statistics on how many educated students return to Ashtabula County because agencies don't share information and privacy laws.
But one 2007 Lakeside High student told him she doubted she would be back.
“The likelihood is pretty small. There is nothing I can do (in Ashtabula County) with (her engineering) degree. It's sad. I grew up here, and I feel bad because we are a product of this town, and it is unfortunate we can't come back and return the favor.”
A onetime Jefferson valedictorian said Jefferson was a good community in which to grow up and would be a good place to raise children. But the county's lack of corporate headquarters, research jobs and higher education make it unattractive to high-achievers like herself. She too was an engineering student.
Son Derek has his masters in engineering and never once did I think he would stay here. Luckily he is only three hours away on I-90 in the Finger-Lake region of New York.
We are feeling the impact of low-paying or no jobs with the recession. Commissioners have taken a 20 percent cut, offices are closed on certain days and employees are furloughed. Public officials not willing to share in the cuts are filing suits or making threats.
A good, long-term plan to attract good-paying, high-tech jobs must begin. We need new blood and new ideas to solve these problems, too.
The housing idea isn't terrible. But something besides affordable housing must be here to retain our brightest.
It would be nice to think that if we had smart people in their own homes, somehow jobs would surface to accommodate them.
Unfortunately, it takes more work than that.
Lebzelter is special sections editor. E-mail him at bobleb@starbeacon.com. Read past columns at bobleb.blogspot.com.
