I'm going to respectfully disagree with you. Private schools are outrageously expensive. Typically schools that are connected with a church are the least expensive as the churches pick up the price. As an example, my in-laws belong to a Lutheran church that has a K-8 school that is free to anyone who wishes to come.
Some examples from the DC area
Bishop Ireton High School - $7,300–$11,10
Blue Ridge School- boys 9th–12th grade; $26,500
Calvary Road Christian School and Pre-school - $6,270
Hill School $9,500–$13,600
Paul VI Catholic High School, 9th–12th grade; $6,690 (diocesan Catholics), $8,750 (others)
Sydenstricker School $250–$675 a month
Public schools typically spend around 8K per student and that looks about the market average, give or take.
I'm going to respectfully disagree with you. Private schools are outrageously expensive.
Thoeting,
The following are the costs of private schools. Oh...and why the prejudice against schools that have a religious affiliation?
By the way, the tuition at my alma mater, St. Joan of Arc, in inner city Philadelphia was a mere $2,383 for the 2002/2003 school year. This is, indeed, less than the cost of babysitting for a pre-schooler.
http://www.cato.org/dailys/09-08-03.html
The most recent figures available from the U.S. Department of Education show that in 2000 the average tuition for private elementary schools nationwide was $3,267. Government figures also indicate that 41 percent of all private elementary and secondary schools -- more than 27,000 nationwide -- charged less than $2,500 for tuition. Less than 21 percent of all private schools charged more than $5,000 per year in tuition. According to these figures, elite and very expensive private schools tend to be the exception in their communities, not the rule.
Many people may think private schools are expensive because the costlier private schools also tend to be the most well known. For example, many in Houston have heard about St. John's or Tenney High School, where tuition runs over $13,000 a year. But fewer Houstonians have likely heard of Southeast Academy, Woodward Acres, or Pecan Street Christian Academy, all of which charge less than $3,000 per year, well below the city's private school average of $4,468.
Average private school tuition in other cities tells the same story: a large number of moderately priced private schools with a few very expensive, well-known exceptions. Median private elementary school tuition in Denver is $3,528. In Charleston, $3,150. In Philadelphia, $2,504. In New Orleans, $2,386.