A great way to get a group of people to see dollar signs is to bring up private school; there’s no doubt that most people associate private education with high prices. Of course, not all private school options are a five figure investment, but the point that private school can be expensive remains. Some people advocate for a school funding structure where public money goes toward private education, through vouchers or another system, and debate on this subject has filled a lot of airwaves through the years. But the current reality is that public money pays for public (and Catholic) schools and not for private and independent schools.
This means that the decision about whether or not to send our children to private school, or even which schools to consider, can be influenced – sometimes heavily influenced – by the associated tuition and expenses. Elaine Rachlin is a financial planner and her Epoch Times article about funding private school comes at an important time. With the world economy in turmoil it’s not an easy time to think about the thousands of dollars private school may cost. But Rachlin has a few tips that could go a long way to helping parents decide just what is affordable.
Part of Rachlin’s point is that we need to make fair comparisons. For example, it’s easy to say public school is free and however much I spend on private school is how much extra I’m paying for my child’s education. In other words, a $2,500 tuition would be $2,500 more than if I sent my child to public school. It’s also easy to just think about one year of school, and not an entire education. Therefore, Rachline advises parents:
[E]valuate the financial impact of a private school education, add up the annual cost of attendance and multiply by the number of years until graduation. Compare this to the cost of attending public school (school lunches, before-and-after care, etc.)
It’s also important to consider that the cost of tuition will likely go up over time, and also that junior or senior high will likely cost more than elementary school. Ultimately, though, like any major financial decision in life, it comes down to a matter of priorities. Is the money that would be spent on private school better used elsewhere? Or is affording private school the most important thing? It’s different for every family, which why Rachlin makes her point clearly:
The important thing is to make sure you are looking at the big picture and taking into account all of your financial obligations along with your dreams.
Now that’s advice you can take to the bank.
RELATED ARTICLES
About 
When I was looking at schools for my son, I didn’t think about the extra things the school offers that I now don’t have to pay for. The extra curricular sports, arts and care are a great benefit.
There was a great article in the Financial Post the other day about the value of a private school education – How far will parents go to keep their kids in school?
The article interviews a number of families, one that send their two sons to Centennial Academy in Montreal. They say that they choose to do family vacations camping, don’t eat out much and don’t go to many movies inorder to save money for their schooling.
“My experience with families who choose private school is that they place a very high value on their kids’ education and will give up many other things before giving up tuition expenses,” says Judy Winberg, a Toronto-based educational consultant that also speaks at the Annual Private School Expos in the fall.
The full article can be read at: http://www.financialpost.com/story.html?id=1645024&p=1