High school dropouts' price is high

T. Keung Hui:

High school dropouts are costing North Carolina taxpayers millions of dollars each year, according to a new report, but there's sharp disagreement on what is the best way to solve the problem.

The report released Wednesday by the Milton & Rose D. Friedman Foundation says a single year's group of dropouts costs the state's taxpayers $169 million annually in lost sales tax revenue and higher Medicaid and prison costs. It's the first time a specific dollar figure has been given for the cost of dropouts in this state.

"In additional to the personal consequences it has on dropouts, this has a very real cost for taxpayers," said Darrell Allison, president of Parents for Educational Freedom in North Carolina. The group instigated the report as part of its efforts to get public money vouchers for students to attend private schools.

The report's recommended solution of using taxpayer-funded vouchers to help students pay for private schools has drawn a sharp dividing line between supporters and critics of public schools.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at November 4, 2007 12:00 AM
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