Private vs. Public School

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to public school in the 70s and 80s, back when schools were focused on education, not indoctrination, and the kids (largely) had working fathers and SAHMs. In other words, those well-meaning teachers could actually focus on teaching children who were actually teachable. That is no longer the case, sadly, so I spend $60k/year to send my two DC to local private schools. We tried public here (Bethesda Elementary), which experiment lasted two years before we jumped ship for the good of my DC. We never looked back.

We really should have a tax deduction for money spent on private schools, like the home interest deduction.

Why? Private is a privilege. You already have tax dollars going to your public.

Why not? If a private school family leaves funds on the table and doesn't use a spot at a public school,
why can't That family use the unused funds at another school? I pay taxes for schools. If a school pulls in $8000 per student and my kids don't go why can't I use my tax dollars as I see fit? Same for homeschooling; homeschoolers should get a tax credit for that amount as well.

its closer to $20,000 per student per year in public spending.

FCPS spends $13,500 per student. Most, but not all of that funding, comes from the county.
http://www.fcps.edu/fs/budget/wabe/2015.pdf

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to public school in the 70s and 80s, back when schools were focused on education, not indoctrination, and the kids (largely) had working fathers and SAHMs. In other words, those well-meaning teachers could actually focus on teaching children who were actually teachable. That is no longer the case, sadly, so I spend $60k/year to send my two DC to local private schools. We tried public here (Bethesda Elementary), which experiment lasted two years before we jumped ship for the good of my DC. We never looked back.

We really should have a tax deduction for money spent on private schools, like the home interest deduction.

Why? Private is a privilege. You already have tax dollars going to your public.

Why not? If a private school family leaves funds on the table and doesn't use a spot at a public school,
why can't That family use the unused funds at another school? I pay taxes for schools. If a school pulls in $8000 per student and my kids don't go why can't I use my tax dollars as I see fit? Same for homeschooling; homeschoolers should get a tax credit for that amount as well.

its closer to $20,000 per student per year in public spending.

FCPS spends $13,500 per student. Most, but not all of that funding, comes from the county.
http://www.fcps.edu/fs/budget/wabe/2015.pdf

the $20K I quoted was from Montgomery county but is probably out of date.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to public school in the 70s and 80s, back when schools were focused on education, not indoctrination, and the kids (largely) had working fathers and SAHMs. In other words, those well-meaning teachers could actually focus on teaching children who were actually teachable. That is no longer the case, sadly, so I spend $60k/year to send my two DC to local private schools. We tried public here (Bethesda Elementary), which experiment lasted two years before we jumped ship for the good of my DC. We never looked back.

We really should have a tax deduction for money spent on private schools, like the home interest deduction.

Why? Private is a privilege. You already have tax dollars going to your public.

Why not? If a private school family leaves funds on the table and doesn't use a spot at a public school,
why can't That family use the unused funds at another school? I pay taxes for schools. If a school pulls in $8000 per student and my kids don't go why can't I use my tax dollars as I see fit? Same for homeschooling; homeschoolers should get a tax credit for that amount as well.

That is called a public charter school. Your private school would no longer be private and would have strings attached to those public funds. Are you really asking, why can't I use government money as I see fit?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I went to public school in the 70s and 80s, back when schools were focused on education, not indoctrination, and the kids (largely) had working fathers and SAHMs. In other words, those well-meaning teachers could actually focus on teaching children who were actually teachable. That is no longer the case, sadly, so I spend $60k/year to send my two DC to local private schools. We tried public here (Bethesda Elementary), which experiment lasted two years before we jumped ship for the good of my DC. We never looked back.

We really should have a tax deduction for money spent on private schools, like the home interest deduction.

Why? Private is a privilege. You already have tax dollars going to your public.

Why not? If a private school family leaves funds on the table and doesn't use a spot at a public school,
why can't That family use the unused funds at another school? I pay taxes for schools. If a school pulls in $8000 per student and my kids don't go why can't I use my tax dollars as I see fit? Same for homeschooling; homeschoolers should get a tax credit for that amount as well.

That is called a public charter school. Your private school would no longer be private and would have strings attached to those public funds. Are you really asking, why can't I use government money as I see fit?

There are also roads I don't drive and libraries I don't use. I'd like my money back for those so I can spend it on EZ pass and Barnes and Noble.