•           Reduce poverty -- The percent of individuals and children below the poverty level will be 10% less than Washington, Idaho and US poverty levels.

            History -- In 1990, 17.3% of Spokane individuals were below the poverty income level, while at the Washington state level 10.9% were below and 13.1 in the United States.  In 1990,  21.7% of children in Spokane were below the poverty level, while 14%  in Washington state and 17.9% in     the United States were below poverty level.

•           K-12 education will result in our students being in the top quartile in graduate outcomes.3

            History -- The graduate outcome index measures graduation rate and college board scores with the US average being 100. A top quartile outcome index would be above 125.  As an example, the well known Expansion Management magazine annual education data series lists the Spokane District #81 school system outcome index at 107 in 1993, 101 in 1994 and 94 in 1995.

•           Manufacturing jobs as a percent of total jobs will exceed the United States average by 15% (1.15 times the US average).

            History -- In 1993, manufacturing jobs were 9.5% of Spokane’s total employment, 11.1% of Kootenai County’s employment, 12.2% of Washington state and 13.3%           of the United States.  

•           The First-time Buyer Index (FTBI) will be above the threshold affordability 100, indicating a balance between a family’s ability to pay and the cost.

            History -- The FTBI for Spokane in the third quarter of 1995 was 78.7.

Ten Priority Issues from Stakeholders Summit

The participants in the summit on February 17, 1996 selected their Top Ten Priority Issues to be addressed in the New Century Process.

Category                                                         Number of Points out of possible 150

Education                                                         124.5

Economics/Jobs/Wages                                    122

Role of Government/Reform                             83.5

Public Safety                                                    54

Children/Families                                              53.5

Planned Growth                                                35

Pro Business Climate                                        33.5

Reduce Poverty                                                29.5

Affordable Housing                                           29

Quality of Life/Culture                                       28

The facilitator used this list during the Task Force facilitation process in February and March.  These issues are all addressed in the vision and strategies for the six foundations required to provide global competitive advantage for the region.