Public schools and universities aren’t the only educational establishments that absorb endless supplies of funds. Take a look at tuition inflation in private schools. According to an article in today’s Wall Street Journal, tuitions at elite private schools in New York have broken the $30,000-a-year barrier. Median tuitions in the Washington, D.C., region exceed $24,000. The situation isn’t as horrendous here in Richmond, with top private school tuitions running around $17,000 a year, but the upward trajectory is the same.
The WSJ quotes private school officials as saying that energy costs are higher, and competition for good teachers is escalating. But that strikes me as bogus. Energy is a small fraction of total school costs, and I’m highly dubious that school teacher salaries are increasing anywhere near the five- to eight-percent annual rise in tuitions.
One problem, I’m convinced, is the competition for status. Every private school wants to rise in the general esteem of the community. One way to do that is to gold-plate their facilities. Rock climbing walls at St. Christophers. State-of-the-art digital libararies at the Norfolk Academy. Bigger and better athletic facilities everywhere. Country club settings all around.
Of course, the middle class is getting priced out of the market. Households with a child in Westridge School in Pasadena, Calif., whose adjusted gross income is less than $150,000 may qualify for as much as $5,000 in aid…. Which points out that the desire for class and ethnic diversity is pushing private-school tuitions higher, just as they are in higher education. When families making $150,000 a year qualify for financial aid, the families earning even more must make up the difference, either through higher tuitions or through philanthropy.
I attended a private school and I’ve made significant financial sacrifices to send my children to private schools (which explains why I drive an 11-year-old Jeep). But I think our values are in the wrong place today. What happened to the core mission of building character and providing the best academic instruction? Surely, there is a market for schools that cut costs by eschewing the country club ambiance and focusing on the things that really matter.
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