This story was reported for San Diego News Network on April 7, 2009.
In the 2006 to 2007 school year, 6,126 students dropped out of high school in San Diego County, which in turn, lightened the weight of taxpayers’ wallets.
According to studies conducted by California Dropout Research Project the U.S. loses about $192 billion in income and tax revenue for each group of students who don’t acquire their diplomas. And, with the flow of budget cuts, concerns have risen as to whether dropout rates may increase – causing a conflicted circle in the economic recession.
“Students may drop out because there aren’t programs for them or programs to help them,” CDRP director Russell Rumberger said. “Then again, students may not be dropping out, now, because there aren’t jobs.”
Among California’s “regular” public schools, the dropout rate is 2 percent. The rate is 9 percent among charter schools and 14 percent among alternative schools.
In San Diego County, an estimated 2 percent of students, grade seventh to 12th, dropped out in the 2006-2007 school year, the term that figures are most recently available. Dropouts were the highest among 12th graders at 3,720 or 9 percent, according to records by the California Department of Education.
The number of dropouts is more prevalent in the Vista Unified School District with 1,532 during the same school year among 12th graders – at 46 percent. Julian Union High District, home to 2,430 students, had a dropout rate of about 31 percent among seventh to 12th graders. Meanwhile, Sweetwater Union High District had 933 from grades seventh to 12th – an estimated 2 percent.
SUHD spokesperson Lillian Leopold said the exact causes for dropouts in her district have not yet been determined. Every school district encounters similar problems with students who are prone to dropping out of school and that the budget cuts may worsen the problem, she said.
“Every school district, no matter what happens, is affected by the recession. Whether it is the parents getting laid-off and students having to work or leave their homes or their teachers getting laid-off,” Leopold said. “There are different reasons why students are dropping out.”
Vista Unified School District board president Carol Weise Herrera said the high dropout rates in her district are due to a charter school. School for Integrated Academics & Technology, also known as SIATech, is more of a “work study program,” therefore, after a student acquires the skills he or she wants, they will leave the program and the departure is considered a “dropout,” according to Herrera.
“It’s unfortunate and we’re working with the state on that,” Herrera said. “But, even without the charter school, it’s important to say if we have one student drop out, it’s one too many.”
Herrera said she did not see a connection between budget cuts and dropout rates.
Rumberger said the basis for dropping out of school is difficult to understand. His research showed dropout tendencies link back to a student’s start in school, he said.
“The signs of dropouts can start really early on. For example, if a student has behavior problems or is failing in elementary school, those problems can persist to junior high school, high school and so on,” Rumberger said.
But Rumberger said those who drop out are hurting the economy too.
Rumberger, who is also an education professor at University of California Santa Barbara, said the ways dropouts affect the economy is complex. First, he said, those with less education tend to earn less money and thus, contribute less in tax revenues.
“It’s also harder for dropouts to find jobs, and studies show they are more likely to get involved in crime and utilize the government’s social services,” Rumberger said.
More than 80 percent of the state’s prisoners in 2005 did not complete high school and each inmate “costs California taxpayers $35,000 per year,” Rumberger said.
High school dropouts earn about $260,000 less over a lifetime and pay about $60,000 less in taxes than a high school graduate, the CDRP study said. The same report also stated that if the U.S. were to improve the high school completion rate by 1 percent for men ages 20-60, it would save up to $1.4 billion per year “in reduced costs from crime.”
By 2020, an estimated 39 percent of California jobs will require a college education but only 33 percent of the workforce will be able to supply that, if current trends continue.
CDRP’s 2008 policy report states that California, local districts and schools need to all be proactive in order to decrease the number of students dropping out. The research institute recommends that the state government re-examine high school graduation requirements. It also recommends that districts mobilize their communities to become active participants and that schools create a personalized learning environment – among other suggestions.
“Ultimately, the solution to California’s dropout crisis must involve providing more resources and support to families and communities, including better housing, better healthcare, and better employment opportunities,” the report said. “In particular, more support must be provided to the most disadvantaged populations.”
Hoa Quach is the political editor for the San Diego News Network.