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I don’t have any children in the Norfolk Public Schools, never have and never will. Yet I am dismayed to learn of the ever-widening scandal related to “irregularities” on the Standards of Learning (SOL) tests that seemingly hits the front page of The Virginian-Pilot almost daily. Not because it reflects poorly on the school system, the appointed school board, and the City Council – it does – but because it hurts one of my most prized assets: my home.

Conventional wisdom has long said that there is a correlation between property values and schools: the better the schools, the higher the property values. In a recent article, realtor Sharon Alva pulled together the research on the topic.

Studies have shown that schools are pivotal in a buyer’s consideration of where to buy a home. A survey conducted by the National Association of Realtors concluded that Americans rank quality of public schools second only to crime when deciding where to live.

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UCLA economist Sandra E. Black calculated that parents are willing to pay 2.5 percent more for housing per 5 percent increase in test scores. This increases property values for all homeowners. Moving from the bottom 5 percent of schools to the top 5 percent is associated with an 18- to 25-percentage point difference in value according to a 2003 study by UCLA, Dartmouth and Kennedy School of Government researchers.

I’ve lived in Norfolk for more than 30 years. I’ve watched the revitalization efforts of the city – Ghent, Robin Hood, Lafayette Shores, East Ocean View, and downtown, to name a few – yet the realtors continue to steer new Hampton Roads arrivals away from Norfolk. Many of those moving into the renovated areas of our fair city have the means or make the choice to send their children to private school or to home school.

Where are the advocates for the public schools? Outside of the employees, I’ve not heard from any.

Is it any wonder that the revitalization projects in Norfolk always require taxpayer dollars? Look at the projects I mentioned above: were any done solely with – or even a majority of – private money?  When Norfolk launched its “Come Home to Norfolk” campaign a few years ago, they brought in a consultant from South Carolina. I recall asking him what was the one thing that Norfolk could do to make the project a success. He gave the answer I expected: a great school system.

Despite the investment of Norfolk taxpayers, our school system is not where it should be. And I place that responsibility squarely on the shoulders of City Council. It is as if they missed the forest while looking at the trees.  “Build it and they will come” doesn’t solve the problem. Passing the buck to the appointed school board doesn’t solve the problem. Instead of investing in holes in the ground, Council should have made the connection that our schools are the priority, since so much of the rest follows from that.

Had Norfolk made the schools a priority – and I don’t mean by spending more money – we as a community would understand our vested interest in seeing them succeed. Perhaps instead of shoveling dirt at the ground breaking of this or that project, our council should have been volunteering in the schools, setting an example for the rest of us. (And no one has ever explained to me why private schools can require parental involvement but public schools can’t.)

In this “me first” society of ours, I’ll admit that I’m selfish in wanting my property values to go up and my taxes to go down. I don’t see that happening unless Norfolk has the best school system in the region.  Whatever it takes to get there, I’m for it.

If it takes an elected school board, I’m for it.

If it takes replacing the council members that chose this school board that chose this superintendent that chose these administrators, I’m for it.

And because it affects what is most people’s largest single assets, we should all want it.

And the side benefit? A well-educated populace.