[extropy-chat] real cheap education

[Stephen Van_Sickle]

Careful where you get your statistics.  The
Statistical Abstract of the United States lists in
2000 47.2 million public K-12 students, and 402
billion dollars in total expenditures (State and
Federal) for roughly $8500 per student.  

To cross check this, I looked at the budget for my
local Milwaukee Public Schools, widely acknowledged as
one of the worst in the country.  With roughly 100,000
enrollment, total expenditures are roughly 900 million
total, or $9000 per student.  Pretty average, then.

University School, the priciest if not best private
school in Milwaukee area, charges 10,000 to 15,000
dollars per year.  They have a significant endowment
and contributions (looks like 1 million per year), and
about 1.7 million in tuition assistance, so call it a
wash.  Still significantly more than MPS, but I think
it is fair to say that you get far more than twice
your value.

Milwaukee area Catholic schools seem to range between
$1600 and $6700 per year tuition, significantly less
than MPS spends.  I don't know to what extent the
Archdiocese subsidizes this, but I doubt it is much
and you can't nuns like you used too.

I think it is fair to say that you get more for your
money with private schools, but public schools do not
cost "twice" as much as the "best" private schools. 
It *might* be "twice" as much for comparable schools
(in facilities and staff), as evidenced by the
Catholic school rates.

On the third hand, looking through, I noticed that
Whitefish Bay, a suburban village right next to
Milwaukee and part of Milwaukee County, spends
~$10,000 per student per year, and it has beautiful
facilities and staff (for instance, the high school
has an olympic size indoor swimming pool).

What it boils down to is that there is a strong
selection effect with American schools.  Parents who
care work their butts off and either move to the
'burbs or find some way to go to a private school.  In
general, parents who don't care dump their kids in
whatever is available.  

An interesting example is the apartment complex I live
in in Whitefish Bay.  It is jam full of immigrant
families and refugees from the city who take advantage
of the relatively low rent and location to send the
kids to good schools.

Since there is such a selection effect, I think it is
difficult to generalize from the current situation to
one where there are no public schools at all.   






--- Damien Broderick <thespike at satx.rr.com> wrote:

> At 04:24 PM 1/11/2005 -0800, Acy wrote:
> 
> >According to my information, the government spends
> more than twice as much 
> >per student annually as the best private schools.
> Reducing that tax burden 
> >would foster a flourishing private school industry.
> 
> 
> Let's see: http://www.cobras.org/usastats.htm
> 
> EDUCATION IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
> 
> - EXPENDITURES FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS:  $757 per
> resident
> 
> - PUBLIC SCHOOL EXPENDITURES:  $4,509 per pupil
> 
> 
> So the *best* private schools manage to charge less
> than half that? Wow.
> 
> Damien Broderick
> 
> 
> 
> 
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