Education investment alleviates tough economic times. Dropping out of school takes a high personal toll on youth because they don’t even meet the minimum education requirements to compete successfully in the job market. It also carries a high social and economic cost.

A recent study by the California Dropout Research Project at UC Santa Barbara concludes that the annual real-world costs to the state of the dropout problem was $8.9 billion in 2007. This includes spending on juveniles between 12 to 17 who end up in the state and county criminal justice system and/or who are incarcerated. It also includes social costs incurred by victims of crimes committed by these youth. And, it includes the spending on high crime schools dealing with the dropout problem.

Dropping out of school does not automatically lead to a life of crime but data indicates that a large percent of violent crimes are committed by individuals who never finished high school.

The school dropout rate —estimated at 20% and even worse for Latinos— is a serious problem for the education system. The numbers aren’t precise because there isn't an accurate measure of the magnitude of the problem. Given this, we support State Senator Gloria Romero’s SB651, which requires pulling together the fragmented and inconsistent methods for measuring dropout rates into an annual report highlighting early warning indicators of students at high risk of dropping out of school. The bill isn’t a solution but at least it is a start.

It is important to recognize that the difficulties that lead youth to drop out begin very early in life. One example: not attending preschool puts the student at a disadvantage and creates a gap that continues to widen and discourage young people as they fall further and further behind. UCSB’s study on the cost of the dropout problem comes at an appropriate moment given California’s fiscal crisis. Education is one of the areas that is suffering under major budget cuts. We believe that this analysis provides an important argument for another strategy: Investing in education now saves money later.