Stemming the Brain Drain
Educational gains alone won't raise our quality of life

Kentucky has set a lofty goal for itself – namely, to raise the state’s standard of living and quality of life above the national average by the year 2020.

Clearly, an emphasis on postsecondary and adult education is important. In a high-tech, knowledge-based economy, staying on the upper limits of the learning curve is essential.

The Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education has done an admirable job. Kentucky’s public agenda for postsecondary education is a nationally recognized model for higher education reform. But, we need to broaden our scope.

Along with raising the quality of higher education and making adult education readily available, we must also strengthen a partnership between state and local governments that pinpoints the vital role that local leaders should play.

This is not just a nice add-on. It is essential. Given current conditions, even as the education community continues its excellent work, we will continue to see too many of our college graduates flee the state. The key reason: Community development is lagging in many of Kentucky’s cities, which means there are not enough opportunities or economic incentives.

Local leaders have the most influence on the youth in their communities – and on workers who might need re-training. These leaders also play a vital role in developing sustainable communities in a 21st-century world that requires the ability to adapt quickly. Only by adding an emphasis on strong local development can we create the kind of economic opportunities that will reduce the “brain drain” and keep more of the best and brightest in our state. The goal is to create social and economic opportunities for people in an era that is rapidly changing all the rules of what makes for sustainable communities.

America’s Heartland has shown a trend of emptying out, while eight regions in the country are growing at a rapid rate. The closest to Kentucky is the Charlotte/Atlanta corridor. While mobility is a key factor in this shift, so is the fact that more and more cities and communities are no longer providing enough opportunities. We must increase efforts to have local officials assume their role in helping raise the bar on educational attainment and per capita income. Without this necessary strategic step, we are only accelerating the exodus of young people from our cities and towns.

Recently, I had the opportunity to address Chamber of Commerce and Rotary Club members throughout the state. At each stop, I collected data on per capita income and educational attainment levels.  I always asked the audience, which included many civic leaders, if they were aware of these statistics.  I mostly got blank looks.

Each of these communities has an active economic development unit, but each is focused almost totally on attracting existing industry from outside the state – in many cases, producing jobs with low wages and offering companies cheap land as incentives to relocate from another state.

That just won’t get it done. If our city leaders aren’t preparing communities to thrive in a high-tech, knowledge-based economy that encourages entrepreneurship and innovation, too many of our college graduates will continue to take their talent out of state.

While there presently is no overall game plan, there are some promising individual initiatives. Georgetown College and Morehead State have a program that places college students for summer internships in their hometowns, where they focus on a community development project. The brainchild of former Governor Martha Layne Collins, the program is funded by the Altria Corporation and students receive training from the NewCities Foundation.

Cloverport’s school system has a remarkably innovative program that lets students earn an associate degree while still in high school, with no tuition.  Meanwhile, the City Smart program teaches essential workplace skills for city officials.

As promising as these initiatives are, they remain isolated endeavors. As a state, we need to develop a comprehensive approach that creates dynamic relationships between those in education, government and the community at large. We need to recognize that education and community development go together like the proverbial horse and carriage. If we do, the dream of a far better standard of living by 2020 can become a reality.

Sylvia L. Lovely is executive director and CEO of the Kentucky League of Cities.
editorial@lanereport.com

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