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Anyone being forced to go private because of limited out-of-boundary success?
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Anonymous
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I am now starting to apply to private schools (most of which are extremely nice, but very expensive) because my in-bound school is out of the question, & the chances of getting into a good out-of-boundary school are slim to none. Even the likelihood of getting into one of the desired charter schools are limited because of lotteries. However, I did hear from a VERY reliable source that the number of out-of-bound applications is going from 3 to 5 for the next school year.
Anyone else dealing w/this? |
Anonymous
 I feel like I wrote that post. OMG!!! Dealing with the same thing here!!! Our in-bound school is in an area designated "high crime" and even the closest schools where we would have a fairly good chance of getting an OOB slot are terrible or marginal. It's either buy in a better neighborhood and assume a $5k+ mortgage or pay for private. Not going to the burbs, so private it is... (if we get in that is)
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Anonymous
| OP here: I think that's why these private schools get away with these inflated tuitions, because there's so many families out there like us...I don't care how prestigous the school is, at 3 years old, tuition should NOT be $25K. For goodness sake, they're painting & playing! They're not offering anything any other school is offering at that age. |
Anonymous
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Changing OOBs from 3 to 5 is an improvement. Do check out all the charters, some are truly first rate. There's a good school chooser book here (http://fightforchildren.org/page05.html#chooser) to help you go through all the DCPS, charter, and private options.
Good luck. |
Anonymous
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Before making this decision, consult with a qualified financial planner. S/he can tell you whether a home in boundaries for a good school is a better investment than $25k/year for private school. It is a buyer's market right now, with deals to be had. The $$ you spend on mortgage interest is deductible; tuition is not. You build equity in a home-- not in a school. A few families, myself included, did this calculation and concluded that moving to a good school boundary was financially worth it even if our children went to private school after 5th grade. Interestingly, my friends all made this calculation for only children; it is obviously even more true when you're talking about $50,000 year.
Seriously, talk to a planner. Think of k-5 education as a $150,000 investment of post-tax dollars, which it is, and plan long-term. Good luck. |
Anonymous
11:05am here... Oh how I love you rational DCUM posters... This has made really take two steps back. I have two kids so everything you say is spot on... decisions, decisions... FWIW, all of the "good/elite" DCPS neighborhoods are in places where the housing market hasn't really suffered. Really... I probably can't sell my house for much and trying to get anything with space for 4 is going to cost in excess of $700k. It's insane. BTDT with the renovations and finding something in move in condition, with equity will be challenging. Maybe I'm asking for the moon but I don't want to go from sub-par to medicore. If I move, then it has to be worth it... Thanks so much for your post. Tres helpful!!!! |
Anonymous
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BUMP
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