Text 4797, 206 rader
Skriven 2007-08-01 07:00:24 av John Massey (1:123/789.0)
     Kommentar till en text av Bob Klahn
Ärende: Private Schools Cost Less
=================================
Bob Klahn -> John Massey wrote:
 JM>> Private Schools Cost Less Than You May Think

 JM>> by David Salisbury

 JM>> David Salisbury is director of the Center for Educational
 JM>> Freedom at the Cato Institute.

 JM>> Vouchers, tuition tax credits, and scholarships are being
 JM>> awarded in a growing number of states and big cities as a
 JM>> way of allowing more children to attend private schools,
 JM>> rather than government-operated public schools. Wherever

 BK>  As opposed to those public schools not operated by the
 BK>  government?

 BK>  Mostly it's a way to slip money to church schools to buy votes.

 JM>> these programs are implemented, critics claim that vouchers
 JM>> or tax credits won't give children from poor families
 JM>> access to private schools because the costs of such schools
 JM>> are high. But are private schools really prohibitively
 JM>> expensive? Not according to the numbers.

 BK>  Prohibitively expensive is a relative term. And a deceptive one.

 JM>> The most recent figures available from the U.S. Department
 JM>> of Education show that in 2000 the average tuition for
 JM>> private elementary schools nationwide was $3,267.

 BK>  Now what was it for non-religious private schools? Religious
 BK>  schools are usually subsidized by their churches. There were at
 BK>  least three Catholic schools in Toledo that did not charge
 BK>  tuition at all. Where did they get their money?

 BK>  More at the end on this.

 JM>> Government figures also indicate that 41 percent of all
 JM>> private elementary and secondary schools -- more than
 JM>> 27,000 nationwide -- charged less than $2,500 for tuition.

 BK>  Bet they were church subsidized.

 JM>> Less than 21 percent of all private schools charged more
 JM>> than $5,000 per year in tuition. According to these

 BK>  Secular elementary and high schools, religious and secular.

 JM>> figures, elite and very expensive private schools tend to
 JM>> be the exception in their communities, not the rule.

 BK>  Well...yeah... his point?

 BK>  ...

 JM>> known. For example, many in Houston have heard about St.
 JM>> John's or Tenney High School, where tuition runs over
 JM>> $13,000 a year. But fewer Houstonians have likely heard of
 JM>> Southeast Academy, Woodward Acres, or Pecan Street
 JM>> Christian Academy, all of which charge less than $3,000 per
 JM>> year, well below the city's private school average of
 JM>> $4,468.

 BK>  Are those high schools or elementary? St John's is probably a
 BK>  Catholic High school. Catholic High schools tend to have much
 BK>  higher tuition, and don't get the subsidies elementary schools
 BK>  get. Which is why a lot of catholic children go to Catholic
 BK>  elementary schools, but public high schools.

 BK>  ...

 JM>> Median private elementary school tuition in Denver is
 JM>> $3,528. In Charleston, $3,150. In Philadelphia, $2,504. In
 JM>> New Orleans, $2,386.

 BK>  That does mean half of them are above that.
 BK>  ...
 JM>> In truth, according to a recent survey, the median per
 JM>> student cost for private elementary schools in the District
 JM>> of Columbia is $4,500, well below the mayor's "five
 JM>> figures." Only 39 percent of D.C. private schools have
 JM>> tuitions of $10,000 or more.

 BK>  Again, most are probably religious schools, subsidized by the
 BK>  churches. More at the end on this.

 JM>> In all of these cities, the average private school cost is
 JM>> significantly less than the amount spent for each student
 JM>> in public schools. A voucher or tax credit worth the same

 BK>  Not available from anything in the above. The tuition is
 BK>  typically a portion of the cost. No public school has a cost of
 BK>  zero per student, does any private school? Yet, as above until
 BK>  recently three Catholic schools in Toledo had a tuition of zero.

 JM>> amount spent per student in public schools would easily
 JM>> give parents access to the bulk of private schools
 JM>> available in their communities. With more parents able to

 BK>  No, that would give them the tuition. Access requires
 BK>  acceptance, and that requires room for them.

 JM>> afford private schools, new schools would open to
 JM>> accommodate the increased number of students.

 BK>  Ah, here's the rub. If Catholic schools can educate students for
 BK>  zero dollars, why aren't all the students in town enrolling in
 BK>  Catholic schools? Why aren't the Catholic schools expanding to
 BK>  accept them all? Easy, because the schools are subsidized by the
 BK>  diocese, and the diocese has a limit on how much they can
 BK>  subsidize. That limit will not be increased all that much by
 BK>  voucher students. IOW, the Catholic Church is not going to build
 BK>  enough schools to take on all the voucher students.

 JM>> In Florida, where students can attend private schools under
 JM>> several choice programs, the number of private schools in
 JM>> the state is increasing as school choice programs become
 JM>> more predominant. The percentage of Florida students
 JM>> enrolled in private schools has risen from 9.31 percent in
 JM>> 1992 to 12.5 percent in 2001. According to the Florida

 BK>  Which keeps it right around the national average. So, where's
 BK>  the explosion of private schools?

 JM>> and philanthropic foundations have poured more than $76
 JM>> million into Milwaukee's private schools since school
 JM>> choice was implemented there. This growth in private
 JM>> schools underscores the fact that the private education
 JM>> sector responds to increased consumer demand.

 BK>  And to public (tax) money. Now, lets see if they can actually do
 BK>  the job.

 BK>  ...

 JM>> stay in public schools. Studies in Florida, Milwaukee, San
 JM>> Antonio, Arizona, and Michigan have all shown that, in
 JM>> areas where school choice is available, public schools, in
 JM>> one way or another, improve in significant ways, including
 JM>> test scores and parental involvement.

 BK>  School choice is available everywhere in this country, without
 BK>  vouchers. Calling vouchers "choice" is a fraud.

 BK>  Now do those studies show whether that improvement is related to
 BK>  general trends, like lower unemployment? And do they show a
 BK>  comparison to schools in areas where there are no vouchers?

 JM>> Fostering a more competitive market in education is
 JM>> critical if the quality of education in inner cities and
 JM>> elsewhere is to be improved.

 JM>> Government monopolies -- and
 JM>> that includes public schools -- tend to serve many or most
 JM>> of their clients poorly, especially in a large and diverse
 JM>> society.

 BK>  Not true. Govt monopolies, esp schools, tend to serve their
 BK>  clients very well, if they are operating in areas where the
 BK>  clients have money. In poor areas they have problems. Texas
 BK>  equalized the schools with tax transfers. Is Texas a liberal
 BK>  state?

 JM>> Giving parents access to a growing, affordable,
 JM>> and diverse supply of private schools will help ensure that
 JM>> the current generation of American children receives a
 JM>> quality education.

 BK>  Giving children access to quality public schools does the job
 BK>  just as well. Competition between public school systems is
 BK>  enough to bring them up, if the government bodies can be kept on
 BK>  topic. In areas governed by republicans, like Ohio and Michigan,
 BK>  they haven't done a very good job.

 BK>  As to those Catholic schools that use to have zero tuition, this
 BK>  year they are establishing a tuition of just over $4000/yr.
 BK>  Funny, the vouchers are just over $4000/yr. Oh, and a third
 BK>  Catholic school that had a tuition of around $2500/yr increased
 BK>  it to just over $4000/yr.

 BK>  Only thing it, the tuition will apply only to students with
 BK>  vouchers. They have run into a bit of a legal objection to that.

 BK>  We have always had school choice, just live where you like the
 BK>  school. That was the basis for real estate values being related
 BK>  to school quality. For years now we have had school choice in
 BK>  the form of charter schools. Public schools run by private
 BK>  companies. All the advantages, without the legal hassel.

 BK>  Vouchers are only for the purpose of getting tax money into
 BK>  churches. If they want the tax money for their schools, they can
 BK>  convert their schools to charter schools. One Toledo Catholic
 BK>  school was doing that, St Martin De Porres. They can give a good
 BK>  quality education, and teach morals, they just can't teach
 BK>  religion. So they do that outside school hours. Just like public
 BK>  school children get, if their parents want it.

 BK>  Years ago I was pointing out that there is nothing stopping any
 BK>  state from contracting out the operation of the public schools
 BK>  to private companies. Yet none have done that, not even states
 BK>  like Texas with no real union power. Why is that?

NEA

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