Thursday, April 14, 2011

Sacramento Press / Region's $9.6 billion education cluster threatened by 'all cuts' state budget

Sacramento Press / Region's $9.6 billion education cluster threatened by 'all cuts' state budget

Region's $9.6 billion education cluster threatened by 'all cuts' state budget

by Hal Silliman, published on April 14, 2011 at 5:14PM

A state budget that makes $25 billion in cuts will drastically impact the Sacramento region—especially the $9.6 billion education industry in six counties.

“The education industry is critical to our region’s economic prosperity,” said Matthew Mahood, Sacramento Metro Chamber president & CEO. “Not only for the work the sector does to educate our residents—but also for the huge injection of dollars into the region. Education institutions employ thousands of people who make consumer purchases throughout the region.”

A newly released Education Industry Cluster Economic Impact Report, commissioned by the Metro Chamber, analyzes everything from elementary schools and universities to private technical colleges. The report pegs the impact on the economy at $9.6 billion—generated by $5.1 billion in direct impacts, $3.1 billion in employee spending and $1.4 billion in industry