The South’s increasingly diverse homegrown talent won’t share in the region’s economic growth unless leaders in those states commit to spending more on public schools and higher education, according to the State of the South 2018 report published by education and job development advocacy group MDC.
The report found that 13 states across the region, including Louisiana, rely heavily on an influx of newcomers with college degrees to fill higher-paying jobs. At the same time, the report finds that state leaders have failed to adequately invest in public schools, higher education and other resources to prepare the next generation of workers.
Social and economic divisions will only get worse “if we let our talent systems atrophy so that they can no longer reach deep into distressed populations to prepare them for the best jobs,” says MDC President David Dodson.
The report notes that half of the country’s population growth since 1970 has occurred in the South. In each state, transplants are more likely to hold a bachelor’s degree or higher than are native-born residents, according to the report. Those discrepancies indicate that the region’s commitment to improving public schools and higher education has eroded since the Great Recession that started in 2007, the study says.
