School spending by affluent is widening wealth gap

Associated Press ^ | Sep 30, 2014 1:00 PM EDT | Josh Boak

[sphinx]

It's cute, and deliberately misleading, the way the story frames the issue. Regarding income, the latest Census Bureau report says that the top quintile of household income begins at $105,900. The top 5%, again of household income, begins at $196,000. The story talks about the top 10% of earners averaging $253,000. That is an average, not a median, and is a figure pulled waaaaay up by a tiny number of very wealthy individuals. The typical private school parent is middle or upper middle class, not mega-rich, and is making a very substantial financial sacrifice.

In addition, public schools, on average, are more expensive than private schools. The story focuses on a handful of elite private schools in the $30,000-plus range. Such schools do indeed exist, but they are atypical.

I live in DC. This year's Census Bureau report on public school financing showed that DC public schools have total revenues just shy of $30,000 per pupil. That is far in excess of the tuition at all but a handful of the local private schools, and is not far short of Sidwell Friends, etc. DC is the most expensive system in the country, of course, which just goes to show that money alone doesn't buy quality.

[CorporateStepsister]

Fully agree here; I don’t think as infants, they worked so they could afford a mansion as adolescents.

[rockvillem]

Education is supposed to help bridge the gap between the wealthiest people and everyone else.

Wow - what a ridiculous starting premise. Education is supposed . . . to EDUCATE. Whether you take advantage of what was offered to you and then go out into the real world and WORK - that's up to you. Geez.

[trisham]

Education is supposed to help bridge the gap between the wealthiest people and everyone else.

***************************

It is? That's the purpose of education?

Dismantle the public school system.

[Gumdrop]

So, if people have the income to afford a better education for their kids - is that something to be ashamed of?

Seems to me that these parents are choosing a better value than that of spending on vices or extravagant entertainment, clothes, etc. They ought to be applauded.

[<1/1,000,000th%]

The Great Recession in 2007?

I’m still calling it the Great Obama Depression.

[johniegrad]

Good observations.

[Mears]

“I call BS on that. “

—

I’m sorry I didn’t make myself understood.

I’m talking ONLY about a $38,000.00 pre-school,not private schools.

This type of school is a snob thing.

.

[Slyfox]

People who choose to send their children to private school still have to support those who send their children to public school.

It would be nice if parents who pay for their own children's education could get some sort of tax break. But I ain't holding my breath.

[Lake Living]

Education is expensive - but so is the alternative. If you are in high spirits and just have too much optimism let me refer you to an historic study that will be sure to take a lot of wind out of your sails (the link is l o n g so I’ll post at the end). The paper is called The Early Catastrophe. It’s a long read (required reading for a course I took long ago). Still good info. I have 3 children. I tell people I could have had 3 very nice houses but instead I have three very nice children each with a good education ;- ) We are not rich. Wife and I still pinch pennies but I have no regrets investing in my daughter and my 2 sons. More and more parents are going to have to take a very serious look at how to educate their children. There really are alternatives. It is a little bleak when you are struggling to put food on the table and roof over your head but there are some really good and interesting things happening in education that may help break open the strangle hold the left has in this arena and the failure public ed has turned out to be. The state of FL is making some baby steps in this area. Too much to go into here. Anyway, here’s the link:

http://rieps.rsmart.com/access/content/group/2010%20RITTI_E2T2/Instructional%20Strategies%20and%20the%20Research/Reading%20_%20Writing%20Priority/The%20Early%20Catastrophe%20AFT%20Spring%202003.pdf

[Some Fat Guy in L.A.]

People that can afford it send their kids to schools where they might have a chance to actually learn something useful? Shocking! President Beeblebrox needs to hear about this....no, wait....

[SampleMan]

Excessively high tuition isn’t about bragging rights per se, it’s about exclusivity. Just like super expensive restaurants. It makes it a private club without it being a private club.