CLEVELAND, OHIO — April 14, 2005 — Expansion Management magazine, a monthly business magazine for executives of companies that are actively looking for a place to expand or relocate their facilities within the next one to three years, has recently published a ranking of metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) with the best overall public school systems. The magazine rates secondary school districts as a way of providing its readers with a basis for comparing the type of work force they are likely to encounter in various communities around the country.

“Just about every metro area in the country is faced with the same situation: an urban public school system with a high dropout rate and low test scores, surrounded by high-achieving suburban public schools,” said Bill King, chief editor of Expansion Management. (For rankings, see bottom of press release.)

Using the data from its 2004 Education Quotient ™study (published in our December 2004 issue), which compared 2,800 secondary school districts throughout the country, Expansion Management grouped the individual districts according to their respective MSA (Metropolitan Statistical Area). Every secondary school district in the United States with an enrollment of at least 3,300 students was included in the survey.

“Unfortunately, most people base their perception of a metro’s public schools on the low-achieving urban school district that carries the principal city’s name,” said King. “Ours is the first study that actually uses data — rather than anecdotal observations — to provide a more accurate assessment of the overall relative strength of public schools throughout each of the 362 MSAs in the U.S.”

Let’s use the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area as an example. The namesake District of Columbia Public Schools, while ranked poorly in comparison to the rest of the nation’s schools, accounts for only 8.6 percent of the overall MSA public school student population. On the other hand, the suburban Montgomery, Md., school district is twice as large, accounting for 17.2 percent of the overall MSA student population. Just across the Potomac, the even larger suburban Fairfax County, Va., Public Schools makes up another 21.4 percent.

Both of these suburban districts are among the best in the entire country. In fact, 57.5 percent of all public school students in the D.C. metro area attend school in Gold Medal districts, while another 12 percent attend schools in Blue Ribbon districts. In order to receive a Gold Medal designation, a district must rank in the top 16 percent of all school districts nationwide, while Blue Ribbon districts rank in the top one-third.

“In today’s knowledge-based global economy, the demand for smart workers doesn’t stop at the top,” said King. “It goes all the way down to the factory floor. Today’s workers, most of whom are high school graduates, must possess skills far beyond those needed just a generation ago.”

For those unfamiliar with the Education Quotient ™ , which Expansion Management has published annually for the past 14 years, school districts throughout the country are compared against one another according to a variety of categories, such as college board scores, graduation rates, beginning and average teacher salaries, per pupil expenditures and student-teacher ratio. For detailed information about the EQ study, visit our Web site at www.ExpansionManagement.com and look under RESEARCH STUDIES.

Expansion Management magazine is mailed to more than 45,000 CEOs, vice presidents, directors and other officers of companies that have indicated they are considering expanding into new geographic areas.

To read the article, “Which Metros Have the Best Public Education Systems?” — along with the Top 20 listings of the metros with the best public schools — go to Expansion Management’s Web site at www.ExpansionManagement.com and look under RESEARCH STUDIES.

Expansion Management is a monthly magazine published by Penton Media (www.penton.com), a diversified business-to-business media company that provides high-quality content and integrated marketing solutions to several industries, including: economic development/government/compliance; enterprise IT/business technology; aviation; design/engineering; electronics; food/retail; hospitality; manufacturing; mechanical systems/construction; health/nutrition and natural and organic products; and supply chain. Founded in 1892, Penton produces market-focused magazines, trade shows, conferences and online media, and provides a broad range of custom media and direct marketing solutions for business-to-business customers worldwide.

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Best Overall Metro School Districts (regardless of size of enrollment):

1. State College, Pa. MSA

2. Sheboygan, Wis. MSA

3. Madison, Wis. MSA

4. Lawrence, Kan. MSA

5. Iowa City, Iowa MSA

6. Oshkosh-Neenah, Wis. MSA

7. Appleton, Wis. MSA

8. Ithaca, N.Y. MSA

9. Ames, Iowa MSA

10. Eau Claire, Wis. MSA

11. Harrisonburg, Va. MSA

12. Dubuque, Iowa MSA

13. Glens Falls, N.Y. MSA

14. Fairbanks, Alaska MSA

15. Fond du Lac, Wis. MSA

16. College Station-Bryan, Texas MSA

17. Corvallis, Ore. MSA

18. Wausau, Wis. MSA

19. Sherman-Denison, Texas MSA

20. La Crosse, Wis.-Minn.

SOURCE: Expansion Management magazine, April 2005.

Best Large Category MSA (more than 250,000 students overall Metro-wide):

1. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Md.-Va.-W.Va. MSA

2. Baltimore-Towson, Md. MSA

3. Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Ariz. MSA

4. Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, Minn.-Wis. MSA

5. Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Fla. MSA

6. Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas MSA

7. Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Pa.-N.J.-Del.-Md. MSA

8. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Wash. MSA

9. Kansas City, Mo.-Kan. MSA

10. Las Vegas-Paradise, Nev. MSA

SOURCE: Expansion Management magazine, April 2005.

Best Medium Category MSA (between 100,000 and 250,000 students Metro-wide):

1. Austin-Round Rock, Texas MSA

2. Raleigh-Cary, N.C. MSA

3. Tucson, Ariz. MSA

4. Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Conn. MSA

5. Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, Conn.

6. Pittsburgh, Pa. MSA

7. Richmond, Va. MSA

8. Ogden-Clearfield, Utah MSA

9. Columbia, S.C. MSA

10. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif. MSA

SOURCE: Expansion Management magazine, April 2005.

Best Small Category MSA (between 50,000 and 100,000 students Metro-wide):

1. Harrisburg-Carlisle, Pa. MSA

2. Spokane, Wash. MSA

3. Sarasota-Bradenton-Venice, Fla. MSA

4. Boise City-Nampa, Idaho

5. Reno-Sparks, Nev. MSA

6. Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, Fla. MSA

7. Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, Pa.-N.J.

8. Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, Calif. MSA

9. Des Moines, Iowa MSA

10. Huntsville, Ala. MSA

SOURCE: Expansion Management magazine, April 2005.