I've thought about starting a school, and was even asking some questions pointed on FR at one time. I envisioned 10-50 students; 1-4 teachers; using existing facilities like a church, local VFW post, or donated office space; not providing lunch, despite the income it generates for public schools; possibly writing and marketing our own textbooks; try to keep tuition low enough for middle-class wage earners; utilizing volunteers effectively; offering math, English, science, social studies, German (the only language I've ever taken) and health through GED levels; working with a nearby public school to let our students join their athletic teams (already done in many parts of Indiana). The overall structure would be very similar to the old community contract-hired schoolhouse master.
The financial numbers seemed to work out, but the one piece of FReeper advice I got that threw me was, "you'll always overestimate the assets, and always underestimate the liabilities." That scared me off. I've kept my eyes open for anyone else who is similarly-minded, but I don't think I could summon the willpower to make a small 'neighborhood' school work by myself.
I have never considered working with a private school to mentor a home-school program, though. How would I go about finding those private schools that participate?