Forbes Says LO has Best Schools for Real Estate Buck

It’s the schools. It’s the schools. It’s the schools. Why do the majority of people move to Lake Oswego? It’s the schools. That’s why I moved here. That’s why the majority of buyers I work with move here.

In a time when school districts face strong financial insecurity, Lake Oswego consistently strives to maintain a strong curriculum, to hire and retain outstanding teachers, to offer “extracurricular” programs like sports, music, the arts, and to provide buildings that are state-of-the-art and well maintained. This can not be said throughout many school districts in this country, much less in Oregon.

Recognition for the outstanding school district was recently published by Forbes Magazine, in conjunction with Greatschools. A study was done that combined data from statewide standardized tests and data from the most recent National Assessment for Education Progress.

To be eligible to be a part of the study, a city had to have a population of at least 10,000 people and a school district with at least 5 schools. Cities were further eliminated if they had an unemployment rate higher than the National average. Then the final scores were categorized by the median price of homes to see how economic affluence affected the quality of the schools and where the best real estate values could be found to get your kids into the best schools. Pretty interesting stuff.

Did living in a wealthier community equate to having better schools? No. Two of the most expensive communities in the United States, Manhattan Beach, California and New Canaan, Connecticut, with median house prices of $1,100,000, came in at 6th and 19th on the absolute scale. The sweet spot? Communities with median housing prices between $200,000 and $399,000, which dominated the top 10 list. In this catagory, Lake Oswego came in at number FIVE.

Both my husband and I graduated from Lake Oswego High Schools. My kids went through school in the Lake Oswego school district. I spent about 10 years as a Girl Scout troop leader in Lake Oswego. From my experience there is one more key to why kids do well in Lake Oswego. I think kids are valued in Lake Oswego. People who move here do so for their kids to get the best education possible and still be in public schools. There is a community attitude that values kids and that is why Lake Oswego has great schools. That is why the citizens of this town passed an $80,000,000 bond measure a few years ago that completely rebuilt both High Schools. That is why the Lake Oswego School District Foundation is able to privately raise millions of dollars each year that retains hundreds of teaching positions. People who live in Lake Oswego invest in the schools because they know that means that they are investing in their kids.

There is synergy between the great schools and the solid real estate values. I also think that the current economic conditions are creating opportunity for families who want to move to Lake Oswego to get into the school district. With house prices down, living in Lake Oswego is now more affordable than it has been in years. Have you considered moving to Lake Oswego to get your kids into the schools? You are not alone.

For Forbes complete article click here.

Thanks for reading,
Dianne