A Woman’s Work

By Ranada Robinson, Research Manager

On January 25, 2017, our COO Kathy Young and I attended the 2017 Georgia Budget and Policy Institute (GBPI) Policy Conference. GPBI is a nonpartisan think tank that conducts research related to Georgia’s state budget, taxes, and public policies and informs the public about issues that arise. Our CEO J. Mac Holladay is on GBPI’s Board of Directors. 

One of the breakout sessions that I attended during the conference was focused on GBPI’s Economic Opportunity Agenda for Georgia Women, published in August 2016. The report explores the impact of women in the state’s workforce and what policies can support and strengthen that impact. Here are some interesting facts that our readers outside of Georgia probably don’t know:

• The majority of Georgia’s population is women (51.3 percent in 2015, according to the U.S. Census Bureau).
• Close to half of the state’s workforce is women (48 percent in 2015).
• Approximately 56 percent of women and girls live in metro Atlanta, and another 28 percent live in other metro areas in the state.
• Roughly 53 percent of women and girls in the state are under the age of 40.
• In over half of all Georgia households with children, women are the primary or co-breadwinners.
• Since 1970, the share of households with children headed by single mothers has more than doubled to 29 percent. Today, 83 percent of single mothers work.
• Women in Georgia who work full-time and year-round earn an average of $36,000 annually, compared to $44,000 for their male counterparts.
• Women are more likely to have attended in college—60 percent of Georgia women had attended at least some college in 2014, compared to 55 percent of Georgia men. This includes the 29.4 percent of women who have earned a Bachelor’s degree or higher, compared to 28.6 percent of men.
• If all working women in the state earned the same amount of money as their male counterparts all else equal (similar geography type within the state, same age, education level, and working the same number of hours), an added $14.4 billion would be added to the state economy.
• If women earned the same amount of money as their male counterparts, poverty for working women in Georgia would decrease by nearly half.

The report highlights four specific recommendations that can support the economic mobility of women throughout Georgia:

• Expanding Medicaid eligibility: Georgia suffers from a health insurance coverage gap that affects more than 300,000 adults in Georgia, including more than 155,000 women. The citizens in this gap have incomes that are too high to qualify for Medicaid under the state’s current eligibility rules but make too little to qualify for financial assistance under the Affordable Care Act. The majority of these citizen are in working families. Lack of health coverage increases the likelihood of poor health outcomes, which negatively impacts the state’s workforce and its competitiveness.
• Making child care accessible and affordable: Women in Georgia are more likely than men to work part-time because of family care obligations. Home responsibilities is the leading reason cited by women across the nation between the ages of 25 and 54 who are not in the workforce and were 12 times more like than men to cite this as the reason. The average annual cost of center-based child care for an infant in Georgia is $7,644 and for a school-aged child, $3,692. GBPI recommends that Georgia’s child care assistance program be expanded to serve more low-income families.
• Enacting Georgia Work Credit: The Georgia Work Credit is a state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). The federal EITC provides a federal tax cut to only people who work and the credit increases as wages increase. It encourages the recipients to stay employed and work more hours. Just under 28 percent of all Georgians received the federal EITC in 2013. A state EITC builds on the federal credit, and GBPI states in the report that the largest value goes to families making between $10,000 and $23,000 per year, but families making up to $52,500 depending on the number of kids in the household can benefit as well. GBPI estimates that this could help up to 900,000 women in Georgia who earn low wages. 
• Raising the state minimum wage to $10.10 per hour: Georgia is one of only seven states in the nation with a state minimum wage below the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. Raising the minimum wage would help close the gender earnings gap because in Georgia, six in 10 minimum wage earners are women. Raising the minimum wage can add an estimated $342 million to nearly half a million women, who are expected to spend it supporting their families and paying for basic needs. 

The Economic Opportunity Agenda for Georgia Women is a worthwhile and enlightening report. Like Market Street, GBPI truly believes in research-based recommendations, and they have definitely made a clear case for these four measures that could significantly benefit Georgia’s economy.

K-12 Innovation

By Ranada Robinson, Research Manager

In December 2015, President Obama signed the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which replaces the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). Recently, Market Street staff participated in a webinar hosted by Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives entitled “K-12 Innovation and Accountability,” which featured three panelists who discussed their professional experiences in transitioning to the new ESSA standards. According to Alliance for Excellent Education, the following features set ESSA apart from NCLB:

• All students must be on a path to postsecondary education, and states have flexibility to design an accountability system that supports this
• States set their own ambitious goals and short-term measures of progress
• The Accountability System includes an indicator of “school quality or student success”
• Interventions for low-performing schools are locally-tailored in consultation with teachers, stakeholders, etc., rather than federally prescribed

The focus of the webinar was on what chambers can do to help states improve education policy and outcomes. In our work, we’ve seen (and encouraged) more and more chambers and EDOs doing more in the workforce development space and helping to create and make stronger the link between what schools are including in academic curriculum and special programs and what businesses need. Christopher Shearer, the Education Program Officer at the Hewlett Foundation encourages chambers to do the following to help states:

• Use their convening power to host stakeholder meetings for local education agency leadership and regional business leaders
• Ask state leaders if the state plan includes a career readiness indicator
• Discuss potential collaboration opportunities for work-based learning, internships for students, externships for teachers, guest speaking, mentorship, and job shadowing
• Be open to other ways state officials might be able to include the business community in implementation

A few of the notable programs that were mentioned during the webinar were the Louisiana Jump Start initiative, described by Liz Smith, the Director of Policy and Research at the Baton Rouge Area Chamber, and the L.A. Compact, described by David Rattray, Executive Vice President of Education and Workforce Development at the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce. 

Jump Start – Jump Start Louisiana was rolled out in 2014 by state superintendent John White as a way to “restore the dignity” of career and technical education and to recognize that earning an undergraduate degree is not the only path to the middle class. Starting with the Class of 2018, there are two high school diploma pathways: (1) TOPS University, for students who want to attend college after graduation, prepares students to qualify for a TOPS scholarship, and (2) Jump Start Pathway, for students interested in college and/or career, which allows students to earn industry credentials that will help them attain entry-level employment after graduation and continue their education at a community or technical college. There are also opportunities for teachers, including externships, training for industry credentials, access to industry experts in any business sector in which they are interested anywhere in the United States, and stipends from the Louisiana Department of Education to develop course materials.

L.A. Compact – The L.A. Compact was first introduced in 2010 as a commitment by a broad range of community partners to focus on increasing graduation rates, ensuring that students are prepared for college, and providing more meaningful career opportunities to students. The partners included City officials, the Los Angeles Unified School District, the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, United Way of Greater Los Angeles, the Associated Administrators of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, and 11 colleges and universities in the Los Angeles area. The Compact later won an Investing in Innovation Fund grant from the U.S. Department of Education for its proposal entitled “L.A.’s Bold Competition – Turning Around and Operating Its Low-Performing Schools.” Since then, the initiative has developed into a collective impact initiative with goals, workgroups focused on major components of those goals, and measurement tracking. 

As the nation moves into transitioning to implementation of ESSA, this is an opportune time for the business community to become more engaged in the workforce pipeline—understanding that starting early by making sure Pre-K – 12 programs are strong and will prepare students for their eventual careers or for continued higher education only helps to support businesses in the long-term. Talent has become and will remain the #1 issue for economic development, and teamwork across community partners will be vital to the betterment of our children and future working adults.

ACCE Takeaways

By Ranada Robinson, Research Manager

Last month, I attended the ACCE Annual Convention in beautiful Savannah, GA. I had an enjoyable time with my Market Street colleagues, past and present clients, and with new friends who could trade stories of community efforts or data trends with me. My favorite part of the convention were the workshops. Here are some highlights of two of the most enlightening and engaging ones.

Promoting Business Growth with the Census Business Builder

Three U.S. Census Bureau staff members led this workshop. They walked us through how to use a couple of relatively new tools: the Small Business Edition and Regional Analyst Edition of Census Business Builder. 

• Census Business Builder: Small Business Edition: This tool was designed to help small business owners access the research they need to make smart decisions when opening a new business or expanding their existing business. A user can search by county, city, ZIP code, or neighborhood (Census tract). After selecting the geography of interest, the user can select from an array of useful data indicators, including demographics of potential customers (population, age dynamics, median household income, educational attainment, etc.) and information on consumer spending (total expenditures on housing, transportation, personal care products and services, etc.). At the city and county levels, economic data (number of other establishments in the sector of interest, number of employees, annual payroll, and total revenue) is also available. The tool is very user-friendly, and is very helpful in this focused context. The fact sheet for this tool can be found here.
• Census Business Builder: Regional Analyst Edition: This tool was developed specifically with chambers of commerce, regional planners, and economic development professionals in mind. The first awesome feature of this tool is the ability to create customized regions—you may select by city, county, ZIP code, or neighborhood, but you can also build a region of multiple counties. This is particularly useful because the geographies served by some regional chambers do not always line up with the OMB metropolitan statistical area (MSA) delineations. The same data available in the Small Business Edition is available in the Regional Analyst Edition, with some additions such as number of establishments by racial and ethnic group. This tool is, of course, free and can be of great use, particularly to chambers and EDOs that do not subscribe to proprietary data sources. Like the Small Business Edition, the tool is very easy to use. The handouts for this demo can be found here and here.

Inclusive Growth: Policy, Programs, and Progress

This workshop was moderated by Market Street’s CEO J. Mac Holladay and featured two dynamic panelists: Bob Morgan, CCE, President and CEO of the Charlotte (NC) Chamber and Courtney Ross, CEDO of the Nashville (TN) Area Chamber. The workshop’s focus was on the definition of an “inclusive economy,” how chambers can respond to negative actions by elected officials or even influence the political landscape, and how to measure success. Here are a few takeaways from the workshop.

Overview by Mac Holladay: Mac shared some national headlines related to race relations in the past year, including:

• “Baton Rouge police killings stoke racial tensions.” The Week. 29 July 2016
• “At Memorial for Charleston Shooting, a Call for ‘Meaningful Action’ on Guns.” The New York Times. 17 June 2016
• “City of Cleveland issues new policy following Tamir Rice EMS bill.” Fox 8 Cleveland. 12 February 2016

More and more, cities and regions are in the headlines for not so positive occurrences, and it impacts us not just on an emotional level, but also in a community’s ability to attract and maintain its residents and workforce. Mac spoke about his work as a chamber executive in Memphis, TN when he was tasked with helping with the integration of public schools. These social issues are indeed important to economic development, even though it’s not always apparent.

Mac also discussed the changing demographics of the nation, and how important it is to actively bridge the divides between not so diverse chamber leadership and other community decision makers and the growing diversity in communities. He cited the following examples of community initiatives dedicated to fostering diversity and inclusion:

• Montgomery, AL – Diversity Summit
• St. Louis, MO - St. Louis Business Diversity Initiative
• Sioux Falls, SD - Sioux Falls Diversity Council and the Multicultural Center
• Salt Lake City, UT - New Americans Task Force

Bob Morgan: Bob spoke about the Charlotte experience, including largely how North Carolina’s controversial HB 2 has impacted the business community. HB 2 blocks cities from allowing transgender individuals to use the public restroom corresponding to their gender identity. The Chamber has done much to embrace diversity of race, gender, age, and other categories, including the following programs:

• Charlotte Chamber Diversity and Talent Development Fund, which is the Chamber’s initiative to promote diversity and inclusion and develop diverse talent in the community
• Diversity and Inclusion Annual Report, which actually tracks the changing demographic in Charlotte-Mecklenburg County
• Diversity Partners and International Chambers, which partners with many organizations in and around Charlotte to work closely together on goals for improving the community
• Diversity in Charlotte, the Chamber’s publication that features minority-owned business and supplier diversity programs

Courtney Ross: Courtney walked us through the Nashville region’s changing workforce diversity and shared that sometimes it takes a deeper dive into the data to understand the differences in trends for various groups. For instance, a community’s unemployment rate can be competitive, but if you look at unemployment by race and ethnicity, some groups may have unemployment rates that are dismal. The Nashville Chamber is engaged in promoting diversity and inclusion in many ways, including the following:

• Education – closing the skills and educational attainment gap through programs such as the Middle Tennessee Skills Panels, the Lumina Community Partnership for Attainment Grant, and the Middle Tennessee Reconnect Community Grant.
• Transit – becoming cognizant of the ability of the workforce to commute to jobs even if they don’t own a car. The region is in the process of completing its RTA and MTA Strategic Plan. They are working to identify and secure a local funding source for regional transit so that they can break ground on the first rapid transit project by 2020.
• Public Policy – engaging public officials by publishing the Legislative Scorecard, which not only tracks votes that directly impacts the economy but, most recently, also votes that affect diversity and inclusion.

It is very important for chambers, regional planning organizations, and economic development professionals to understand that talent truly is the #1 issue vital to economic development. Increasingly, talent’s desire is to be in communities that embrace all people and allow everyone who moves there the opportunity to thrive and be successful. Chambers and EDOs are absolutely organizations that can make a positive difference in a community’s promotion and acceptance of diverse populations and the celebration of those populations.

Are State School Takeovers the Best Option?

By Ranada Robinson, Research Manager

Last month, a few Market Street staff participated in the Southern Education Foundation webinar, The Facts about State Takeovers of Public Schools. The Alliance to Reclaim Our Schools and Center for Popular Democracy were co-hosts and provided presenters. We were interested in this webinar because an increased number of states across the country have passed or are considering legislation to allow the state to take control of local low-performing schools and/or school districts. This webinar presented statistics regarding the three states that have already done so in an effort to improve results: Louisiana, Michigan, and Tennessee. According to the research, the takeovers have not been successful in improving low-performing schools but have further disenfranchised minority students. Here are some high-level takeaways from each speaker’s presentation, including a few alternative solutions with positive track records.

 

State Takeover Districts – A Growing Threat: Katherine Dunn, Southern Education Foundation

States that have passed legislation to take control of individual schools by removing them from the local jurisdiction and placing them in a “state school district” are:

• Louisiana (2003) – The Recovery School District
• Tennessee (2010) – The Achievement School District
• Michigan (2013) – The Education Achievement Authority
• Nevada (2015) – The Achievement School District (No data available yet)
• Georgia will face this issue via ballot in November 2016.
• Similar legislation is under review or pending in: Mississippi, Ohio, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and South Carolina. 

The Targeting of State Takeovers in African American and Latino Communities: Keron Blair, Alliance to Reclaim Our Schools

In August 2015, the Alliance to Reclaim Our Schools released a report entitled Out of Control: The Systematic Disenfranchisement of African American and Latino Communities through School Takeovers as a commemoration of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which is considered one of the most far-reaching pieces of civil rights legislation in U.S. history.

Within the current operational takeover districts examined, tens of thousands of students are in schools that are under state control. After a school has been placed under state control, elected school boards and voters have no governance. These takeovers tend to occur in urban centers that have high concentrations of minority population—in Louisiana, 63 of the schools in the Recovery School District are in New Orleans, compared to 12 in Baton Rouge. In Tennessee, 27 of the state’s 29 Achievement School District schools are in Memphis, with the remaining two in Nashville. In Michigan, all 15 schools in the Education Achievement Authority are in Detroit. Combined, there have been 101 schools placed in state control, and of the 47,596 students enrolled in those schools, 97% are African American. Eighty-nine of the schools have been converted to charter schools.


The Academic Record of State Takeovers: Kyle Serrette, Center for Popular Democracy

In February 2016, the Center of Popular Democracy released its State Takeovers of Low-Performing Schools: A Record of Academic Failure, Financial Management, & Student Harm report that debunks the theory that making the structural change of taking over a school at the state-level will lead to strategic changes that will result in higher performing schools. The overarching issue is that many of the states have not created mechanisms to help struggling schools move from an F to a D to a C, and so forth, leaving many states to just close the school eventually. Additionally, high expectations are set, but inadequate support is given to help meet those expectations.

In Louisiana, over 21,000 children are in D and F rated charter schools. The state has spent over $700 million on these schools. However, in the 2013-14 academic year, 42% of charters are still D & F rated.

In Michigan, 10,000 students are in the 15 Detroit schools placed in the Education Achievement Authority. The Michigan Educational Assessment Program results indicated that a high majority of these students are stagnating in reaching math and reading proficiency or are falling even further behind. The chancellor of the Authority recently stated that, “three years into this, achievement hasn’t improved.”

In Nashville, the goal was to “turn the state’s bottom five percent of schools to the top 25% in five years.” Results from 2014 indicate that reading scores were lower in the Achievement School District schools than they were before the state took them over in 2012. Good news, though, is that math scores have increased by more than five points.

 

A Real Strategy for School Improvement: Sustainable Community Schools: Ken Zarifis, Education Austin

In 2007-2008, Austin had two schools in danger of closing: Webb Middle School and Reagan High School, but the community came together to prevent the closure and started with three questions:

• What do you love about your schools?
• What creates barriers to your success?
• What resources do you need to overcome those barriers?

The plan for the schools addressed attendance, mobility, and social needs. A Family Resource Center was established. Eight years later, these schools are top performers with the same neighborhood students. Enrollment at both schools has doubled, and student mobility decreased from 35% to 25%. Graduation rates have increased from 48% to 85%, and Webb has earned five state academic distinctions in 2013-2014 and three in 2014-2015. The Early College High School program offers up to 60 college credits.

Wraparound services are a key component to support the students, but this alone isn’t enough—a strong academic model is also necessary. Now, Education Austin’s goal is to make Austin School District a community school district. Both the City of Austin and Travis County support and have made investments. Five of 8 elementary schools have developed plans, and the second middle school is currently developing its plan. Education Austin continues to work with courts, health and human services, and other public departments to address student needs. They are also pursuing legislation at the state-level to support community schools.

Talent continues to be the #1 issue in economic development, and winning communities know that their talent pipeline includes their pre-K through 12 programs. No matter what is best programmatically in specific communities, it is important to make well-informed, research-based decisions. According to the Southern Education Foundation, to date, there is no evidence that state takeovers are effective. However, their research indicates that the following factors are associated with stronger outcomes:

• Access to high quality early childhood and pre-K programs
• Collaboration and stability in school leadership
• Good teaching by experienced educators
• A learning environment focused on students, and positive and restorative discipline practices rather than zero tolerance
• A rigorous curriculum that is broad, engaging, and culturally relevant
• Wraparound support services, like health services and after-school activities, for both students and the broader community
• Deep parent, community, and school ties
• Consistent investment in schools, not constant budget cuts

For more information about community schools and the aforementioned best practice factors for better outcomes, please download Investing in What Works: Community-Driven Strategies for Strong Public Schools, published in 2015 by the Southern Education Foundation and the Annenburg Institute for School Reform, and Community Schools: Transforming Struggling Schools into Thriving Schools, published in 2016 by the Center for Popular Democracy, Coalition for Community Schools, and Southern Education Foundation.

Bridging Generational Gaps through Best Practices

By Ranada Robinson, Research Manager

Last Thursday, I was afforded the opportunity to lead a session entitled Understanding and Bridging the Gap across Generations at the Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc. (ABC) Workforce Week Conference.

My presentation was composed of three sections. In the first segment, I discussed characteristics and stereotypes of each generation, from the Greatest Generation to the Millennials. After pointing out differences, many of which are well-known to most, I talked about similarities that can be leveraged in communities, including public design elements, social opportunities, and basic human needs like respect. The main takeaway of the first section was that the differences between generations need to be considered, but the generations aren’t as different as it sometimes seems. The similarities are just as important.

The second part of the presentation, Workforce Sustainability in Construction, was research-heavy. I provided employment projections by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics as well as dependency ratios for various construction occupations. Dependency ratios are simply the ratio between “young professionals,” or workers in a given occupation between the ages of 25 and 44, and experienced professionals nearing retirement between the ages of 45 and 64. This is one of the most basic ways to evaluate workforce sustainability, by measuring whether there are currently enough young professionals in an occupation to eventually replace the retirees. If the ratio is over 1.0, there are enough younger workers to replace older workers, in sheer numbers (not taking skills and knowledge into consideration). If the ratio is less than 1.0, the given sector or occupation is at risk. Nationwide, the construction sector (NAICS 23) is sustainable with a ratio of 1.13. Construction occupations that are at risk nationwide include tool and die makers (ratio of 0.42), model makers (0.49), construction and building inspectors (0.59), and civil engineering technicians (0.81). There are several currently sustainable occupations, including drywall and ceiling tile installers (1.66), cement masons and concrete finishers (1.51), electricians (1.32), brickmasons and blockmasons (1.31), and architectural and civil drafters (1.24). It is important to note, though, that these occupational age dynamics vary by community.

Because the overall purpose of the presentation was to convey the importance of bridging the gap between generations and ensuring that younger workers have clear career paths and career advancement opportunities, the last segment focused on best practices. There are only two ways for communities and similarly, businesses, to have the talent they need to fill current jobs: talent attraction and long-term talent development. Building talent pipelines is vital. Here are just a few best practices I highlighted.

Leadership Programs

Leadership programs, both at the firm and community levels, are important for giving young workers the opportunity to network, learn skills, and gain experience that will prepare them for future job opportunities and promotions.

- Firms such as Procter & Gamble, General Electric, IBM, and Deloitte have designed leadership programs to assist their employees with mentorship and training opportunities, particularly their most recent hires. These companies consistently rank on Chief Executive’s Best Companies for Leaders list because they have made it their priority to ensure that the talent they hire receives guidance, is challenged, and is well prepared for future positions. Current leaders and managers are expected to coach and develop those who report to them.

- Community young professional leadership groups are also tools to encourage and empower young professionals. TYPros in Tulsa, the largest YP network in the nation with over 8,000 members, is a great example. With a platform, young professionals can make a profound impact on communities. Through its Business Development “Bring It to Tulsa” program, they have successfully attracted Trader Joe’s and Uber to the community. An effort to promote Next Gen Leadership, the Board Internship program provides training to YPs, then matches participants to a board within the community where they receive experience serving on a board without financial obligations or voting rights.

Industry Promotion Programs

For business sectors that may be at risk of not having enough young workers to replace those nearing retirement, promotion programs are helpful in exposing existing and future talent to jobs that are available in a community.

- Manufacturing Day is a nationwide (and beyond) observance that promotes manufacturing as a viable business sector by addressing misperceptions and connecting with younger generations. Communities and businesses across the nation host events that foster conversations about opportunities and challenges within manufacturing, including events at schools.

- Women in Construction Week highlights opportunities for women in the construction sector, including both executive/administrative and hands-on opportunities. It also celebrates contributions that women have made in the sector. National Association of Women in Construction chapters host events nationwide during this week. 

 

 

Career Exposure Programs

While filling existing jobs is, of course, a priority, it is also important to reach the youth to prepare them for future jobs. Higher exposure increases a student’s perception of possible careers and is a way to connect future job projections to future homegrown talent.

- Southwire 12 for Life public-private partnership formed by Southwire and Carroll County Schools in Georgia to address the community’s dropout rate. This initiative has served multiple purposes—not only has the program helped with increasing the community’s graduation rate and number of students going on to pursue college, but it has also provided high school students with valuable part-time jobs and mentorship and full-time employment opportunities after graduation.

- In Decatur-Morgan County, Alabama, the SWeETy (Summer Welding and Electrical Technology) Camp gives high school girls the opportunity to learn hands-on about nontraditional, high wage technical careers. The program has been a huge success, with such high demand that the program has expanded over the years.

Successful communities and companies recognize the value of talent of all ages. At the end of the day, people want to be respected and acknowledged for what they bring to the table. By building on strengths and bridging the gap between the generations, talent pipelines can be fortified so that communities and companies have the workers they need.

State funding, a human approach

By Alexia Eanes, Operations Manager.

I had the opportunity to attend the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute’s (GBPI) 2015 Policy Conference on Wednesday, January 7th, 2015. The conference revealed a lot about the actual state of affairs happening in Georgia, which is exactly what GBPI does as an organization. GBPI, a ten year old organization, thoroughly analyzes Georgia’s budget and tax policies to inform public and local leadership. Their research is meant to be used as a tool which will hopefully benefit the state. The Policy Conference consisted of two panels that discussed K-12 education issues in Georgia and another about healthcare coverage across the nation along with author Bob Herbert as the keynote speaker. 

The Education Plenary: Emerging Issues in Education panel consisted of four men who were there to not only discuss school funding but also key emerging issues in Georgia’s K-12 system. Rep. Mike Dudgeon, vice chairman of the Education Committee in the Georgia House of Representatives; Sen. Lindsey Tippins, chairman of the Georgia Senate’s Education and Youth Committee; Rep. David Wilkerson from Cobb County; and Richard Woods, Georgia’s new state school superintendent. Education remains at the forefront of Georgia’s budget and policy debate. After suffering significant cuts since the Great Recession, Georgia’s K-12 formula is still underfunded by $746 million in 2015 (see chart below). All of the panelists agreed that something needs to change in Georgia’s schools whether it is funding or curriculum, business as usual will not suffice for Georgia’s schools. One of the major areas of agreement all four panelist favored is increasing Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education in Georgia’s schools. There’s a good reason for this backing. STEM occupations are expected to grow 17% by 2018 and get paid more than their non-STEM counterparts by 26% according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Source: GBPI, Georgia Budget Primer 2015

While I could go on and on about STEM education, there were other very important topics discussed regarding the school system in Georgia: high school graduation rates (Georgia is 40th in the nation), school funding (see graph below) and readjusting the state’s K-12 formula, Common Core, and teacher and parent responsibility. The latter, by far, was the most passionate discussion I have ever witnessed. Teachers and administration were both present in the audience which made for a very insightful discussion, and rightfully so, not only do teachers have to deal with stressful teacher evaluations and “teaching to the test,” but also with financial support that remains below pre-recession levels. As Richard Woods pointed out, only half of Georgia’s teachers don’t make it past their fifth year. The first chart above and the second one below both illustrate that while 2015 funding won’t be as bad as previous years, it’s still worse than where we were pre-recession and need to be.

Source: GBPI, Georgia Budget Primer 2015

Healthcare is also another important topic to Georgia’s budget and policy debate. The state has chosen to forgo Medicaid Expansion and, as a result, have lost billions in federal support. The Healthcare: Closing Georgia’s Coverage Gap panelists included Jason Bailey from the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy and Adam Searing from the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families. Jason Bailey discussed how Kentucky, a conservative state, was able to expand Medicaid coverage as well as the depth of Kentucky’s implementation of the Affordable Care Act, most notably its health insurance exchange Kynect. Kynect is a user friendly website that helps Kentuckians find affordable health care and has been widely used and accepted. Providing Kentuckians with quality healthcare and not lose out on the funds being given to the state was the motivation behind Kentucky leadership’s decision to expand it. To understand the repercussions the state and the people of Kentucky could have faced if Medicaid was not expanded, click here. 

Adam Searing provided a national overview of Medicaid expansion, as well as some insight into different approaches states, especially conservative ones, are using to pass Medicaid expansion. One examples is Utah, where a coalition of civic leaders including local chambers of commerce, hospitals, and religious institutions along with the governor banded together to support expansion within the state. More importantly, Searing noted that Medicaid expansion is not one size fits all, the federal government has established a great amount of flexibility including shared costs structures. He also noted that states, on average, saw a 30 percent drop in uncompensated care with the expansion of their Medicaid program along with the community health benefits the expansion provides.

Both education and Medicaid expansion had an underlying theme that was not apparent until the Keynote speaker, Bob Herbert – author of Losing Our Way, took the stage to discuss wealth and income disparity between the rich and those living in poverty. He made us think about a “living” wage and minimum wage, about how one third of the population is either poor or near poor, and where the disconnect is between leadership and the people they represent. Perhaps the most poignant part of his keynote address came when he read a passage from Losing Our Way, the story of a 19 year old girl, Jessica Gallardo, who worked in a bakery manufacturing operation. The teen worked nights, including school nights, often till 1 a.m. in order to help provide shelter for her family. Conditions in the factory were grueling; employees often didn’t take lunch or bathroom breaks – instead favoring to stay on the manufacturing line until their shift ended. Needless to say, Jessica had trouble paying attention in class, let alone doing her homework. With the example and so many more listed in his book, Herbert believes that change starts with the public voice. Herbert’s call to action against disparity is for us, the community, to challenge the local leadership and make them take notice in what we believe needs to be changed. “Believe passionately about your cause, it’s our America”, he says. 

One of the key takeaways that was repeated time after time by each presenter/panelist is that leadership needs to recognize their states strengths and weaknesses. State budgets are not just numbers on a spreadsheet but directly affect its citizens’ wellbeing. That should be the main concern for each state representative and community stakeholder.

Eternal Sunshine of the Data Geeks Mind

By Ranada Robinson, Research Manager.

Last week I attended the REMI (Regional Economic Models, Inc.) Policy Conference here in Atlanta. The conference featured several speakers who discussed how they have leveraged REMI in their work. Among my favorite presentations were A Tale of Two Cities: Economic Competitiveness in Birmingham and Charlotte and The State-by-State Impact of the President’s School Readiness Program. Here is just a brief overview of each of them.

A Tale of Two Cities was presented by Parker Bedsole, REMI staff. He merged two projects they conducted in Birmingham and in Charlotte in the presentation. Although not a perfect comparison – the Birmingham project focused on the six-county Birmingham region, and the Charlotte project focused on the city of Charlotte itself – it was still a pretty interesting exercise. The REMI model was used to forecast population, employment, GDP, and personal income, and it was clear that Charlotte is experiencing significantly higher rates of growth across these variables than Birmingham. The city of Charlotte is expected to continue outperforming Birmingham over time. A key takeaway of this presentation was that communities across the country need to evaluate whether they are making policies that cater to the Baby Boomer generation or to the Millennials, who Parker says, outnumber Baby Boomers and will be the source of tomorrow’s innovation. Communities focused on the older, nearly retired generation, says Parker, are setting themselves up for extinction.

At Market Street, we work with clients regularly to figure out what’s best to sustain their communities in terms of prosperity and quality of life. Balance is very important, and we’ve found in many communities that it is possible to strike compromise between seemingly different target constituencies. Creating (or maintaining) a place where people feel welcome, have the space to take entrepreneurial risks, and provide residents the ability to live, work, and play near home are all key in competing in the post-recession “New Economy.”

The State-by-State Impact of the President’s School Readiness Program presentation was led by Dr. Richard Sims, Chief Economist at the National Education Association. Dr. Sims talked through a REMI model he has created to show policy makers how much impact educating preschool-aged children will have on the economy. Although there are many measures that could be forecasted, the most important to most politicians, per Dr. Sims, is employment (direct and indirect). Although it should be clear to us all that increasing the chance for success for children – who will eventually be adults – is something that will have enormous long-term benefits, politicians are very interested in short-term tangible results like new jobs.

The model was run for each state and aggregated for a national total. The School Readiness Program is planned to begin in 2014 and end – as a federally funded program – in 2023. At that time, states will have to decide if they want to fund its continuation or potentially suffer politically if the program is popular but they decide to discontinue it. According to the model, the program will spur 87,300 new jobs in 2014, increasing each year and peaking in 2020 with 397,000 new jobs then tapering off, adding fewer – yet still significant amounts of – jobs through the program’s lifetime.

One important differentiation that Dr. Sims made was to cull out education jobs since it’s obvious that more teachers will be hired as a result of the program. Because he wanted to show that there is an economy-wide impact of supporting this program, he wanted to ensure that policy makers could see that new jobs would be created across the board. While many of the new jobs are related to education, about 30 percent of them will be non-educational. Sales, building and grounds maintenance, management and business, and healthcare occupations are among those that will receive the greatest impact as a result of the School Readiness Program.

I really enjoyed seeing how my fellow data-driven professionals use various data collection and modeling methods in their work. It’s also always great to see how Market Street’s work ties into the work of other types of organizations, especially those working on policy research. Data driven decisions are critical in a number of ways, the most important of which is benchmarking. The ability to determine whether a decision has resulted in a positive, or sometimes, negative change is crucial to implementation success.

Market Street and Client Chambers Prominent at 99th Annual Convention of American Chamber of Commerce Executives

By Jim Vaughan, Senior Fellow.

 

It is unlikely than any of the more than 800 chamber executives in attendance at the American Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE) convention in Oklahoma City on July 23-26 left without hearing about the good work of Market Street Services and our client communities.

 

Market Street is a sponsor of the annual conference and an exhibitor; company principals, team members and clients presented at four sessions, and we sponsored and hosted the CCE (Certified Chamber Executives) Breakfast.

 

Here is a brief summary of our sessions.

 

Talent War 2.0—Transition Planning

Principal and Director of Operations Kathy Young and Project Manager Christa Tinsley Spaht presented charts and data on the present and future of the American workforce and asked the question, “Does your organization and its leadership reflect the changing demographics of your community?”

 

Anna Buckalew (Montgomery, Ala.) and Ryan Mooney (Springfield, Mo.) – both chambers are Market Street clients – presented examples of programs and initiatives designed to embrace diversity and build leadership capacity. Best-practice programs include Montgomery’s Diversity Summit and Springfield’s Young Professional Work Crews that annually tackle a project identified in the Chamber’s strategic plan.

 

Economic Development Metrics

CEO and Founder Mac Holladay led a session on measuring economic and community development success and suggested that it’s about more than jobs and capital investment.

Holladay said core indicators for today’s strategies include a range of quantifiable measures in four categories—demographics, talent and workforce, economic prosperity, and quality of place.

Jay Byers (Des Moines, Iowa) and Duane O’Neill (Jackson, Miss.) shared tracking tools they use to measure results toward their goals.

 

The Des Moines Capital Crossroads Benchmarks and Milestones report shows results at-a-glance and a video was produced to highlight key results for the first-year celebration event. And the Jackson Chamber Partnership has quantifiable benchmarks for each of the initiatives in its One Region, One Vision, One Voice plan. Market Street supported both organizations in the development of their plans.

 

Economic Development and Membership Collaboration

I facilitated a session designed to identify opportunities for collaboration between the two most important programs most successful chambers have (revenue and economic development) with the Springfield (Mo.) Chamber executives from those two departments.

 

Brent McCoy said his staff and volunteers are now selling “the big picture” instead of immediate benefits, and Ryan Mooney said the result is that members better understand and support the Chamber’s Priority Goals—Developing Our Talent; Growing Our Economy; Enhancing Our Community; and Challenging Our Perceptions. Springfield is a Market Street client.

State Level Public Private Partnerships

Mac Holladay, the only person to head three state economic development programs, reported on changes—some good, some not so good—taking place in Arizona, Florida, Indiana, Missouri, North Carolina and Wisconsin.

 

Arizona replaced its Department of Commerce with the new Commerce Authority in 2011 and appropriated $31.5 million for the agency in 2012; Florida’s Enterprise Florida partnership has seen private-sector financial support decline from 50% in 1992 to just 8% in 2012; the Indiana Legislature has required the Indiana Economic Development Corporation be more transparent including reporting on actual jobs created and making incentive contracts public more quickly;

 

Missouri economic development partnership has been successful under several governors but funding has declined since 2007; North Carolina‘s Department of Commerce is giving way to a nonprofit corporation for economic development but it will be headed by the governor and the state’s regional partnerships will lose state funding; and Wisconsin’s Economic Development Corporation, founded in 2011, is under fire for failing to track money awarded for projects and giving incentives to ineligible recipients.

 

Outlook for the Profession

The future for chambers of commerce and economic development organizations looks good based on the people we talked to. Our client communities are doing well and are advocates for the work we do. We have a positive outlook on the future and are beginning some exciting new work this month and over the balance of 2013.