NORTHERN OHIO SURVEY Executives like health care, have dim view of education

Job opportunities for college graduates are lacking, most executives say.
By DON SHILLING
VINDICATOR BUSINESS EDITOR
YOUNGSTOWN -- Northern Ohio business executives have a high regard for the region's health care institutions but are dissatisfied with K-12 education.
Almost 60 percent of the nearly 800 respondents said they strongly agree that northern Ohio has leading health-care institutions, which was the highest ranking of any of the eight quality of life issues on the list.
Seventeen percent of the executives said they strongly agree that northern Ohio has high-quality K-12 education. The only item that ranked lower was public transportation, which 5 percent thought was good.
While the executives have a poor perception of northern Ohio schools, the survey noted that Ohio ranks 10th in the nation in fourth-grade math scores and 12th in reading scores.
Reason for survey
The survey is being studied by the Youngstown-based Regional Chamber, as well as other chambers, to help it set priorities, said Reid Dulberger, executive vice president of the local chamber.
Sponsored by Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, the survey was compiled by Kent State University, which conducted the survey in October.
Dulberger called the executives' opinion on education a "broad indictment" of the state's schools.
The results, however, support the chamber's education efforts, he said. The chamber has received a federal grant to recognize the area's outstanding school districts and market their success to the community.
Also notable was that 94 percent of executives said attractive job opportunities were critical to their children choosing to live in the region. But in another part of the survey, 7 percent of the executives strongly agreed that the region has many job opportunities for people with higher education degrees.
The survey also asked what were the critical issues to business success in the region. The top response was business opportunities, which was cited by 68 percent of respondents.
Dulberger said he was surprised by the rankings of two other factors. Quality of health care was cited as critical by 62 percent, but ease of travel on highways was ranked by 42 percent.
Dulberger said he thought affordable health care would be considered critical by many respondents (63 percent), but he didn't expect quality to be of such concern. He said he thought highway systems would be more important because development officials traditionally have given them high priority.
Surprising
He said he was surprised that 38 percent strongly agreed that the region has an attractive cost of living when the figures show that Ohio is more affordable than the national average.
Dulberger said the chamber will use the survey to help it understand the thinking of executives and identify areas in the community that need improvement. The survey also will help the chamber link with organizations in other parts of Ohio to work on regional issues, he said.
Using the data to make improvements is important because nearly all new jobs in the Mahoning Valley come from existing businesses, he said.
"This tells me what the existing customer base wants. If we don't keep them happy, those that have options will look elsewhere," he said.
shilling@vindy.com