Anonymous
Post 01/16/2016 08:15     Subject: Winning the lottery and paying for tuition!
School cost and salaries are especially high when you consider they are 9 month costs. Parents are paying for those other three months with camp tuitions, and teachers and administrators are only working 9 months for those salaries.
Anonymous
Post 01/16/2016 08:09     Subject: Winning the lottery and paying for tuition!
Anonymous wrote:Excess often starts in the administrative staff. At our top tier private there are so many people that I have no idea what they do all day. And salaries for teachers may not be high, but heads of school and administrators make high salaries. The head at our school is reported to make over $350,000! Hello 2%er!


And he or she earns every penny of it. In this area where parents have exceptionally high standards and expectations, being the head of a top-tier school is a 24/7 job with responsibilities that cross many different areas. If you think of schools as the businesses/workplaces they are, that salary isn't out of line for a CEO.
Anonymous
Post 01/16/2016 07:33     Subject: Winning the lottery and paying for tuition!
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Sorry people, but if you live in DC or the close-in suburbs a $900K/$1M house is not that luxurious. We live in a 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath 1,900 square foot home in a modest neighborhood. Nothing fancy, original kitchen and baths from 40s, no second home, no boat, etc and we struggled with big tuition ($35-$40K). Cutting our mortgage in half and moving to an unsafe neighborhood or an hour commute from school and work would still not save enough money to send both children to private.

You don't seem to get it - being upset about not being able to pay the high cost of private is not "whining", having misplaced priorities, or acting entitled. I am not saying other options (public or parish) are bad - just expressing disbelief and outrage that the ever increasing tuition has become so outrageously high that 99% of the population can not afford to pay without assistance of one form or another. These schools needed to be called out, as they are no longer for a broad range of children and families (as they used to be) - now they are for the uber wealthy (top 1% - $400k and above) and low income. A huge percent of the population is cut out. Maybe schools should put some energy into diversifying their socio-economic population.

And were is all that money going? People should be outraged! Every year tuition goes up about $1K. If there are 400 students, that is a $400,000 raise every year! Wish I got that raise or a quarter of that raise every single year!

Just saying things are getting out of control and the top privates seem to have lost their sense of reality when it come to tuition. $41K for 4th grade is a little crazy, especially when you know it goes up every year and by the time the 4th grader graduates tuition may be $50K per year. That's approximately $100k a year pre-tax per child. Soon even the 1%ers won't be able to afford it!


We are nowhere near the 1% and yet we are full pay with one in private HS and another on the way. In order to make this happen, we were strategic with a long-range plan. First, we never moved from our starter home (which is incredibly well located but on the small side for DCUM land). Second, we limited ourselves to two kids because we knew we couldn't pay for three tuitions. Finally, we thought long and hard about the best way to combine public and private. For us, it made sense to use the public schools through middle school and then transition to private for HS. Private school is doable for the less than 1%ers but it does require trade offs.


+1 we did something very similar.


If you are "nowhere near the 1%," can you tell us what your HHI and how much you budgeted? Seeing what your budget looks like would be extremely helpful.
Anonymous
Post 01/16/2016 06:03     Subject: Winning the lottery and paying for tuition!
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Sorry people, but if you live in DC or the close-in suburbs a $900K/$1M house is not that luxurious. We live in a 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath 1,900 square foot home in a modest neighborhood. Nothing fancy, original kitchen and baths from 40s, no second home, no boat, etc and we struggled with big tuition ($35-$40K). Cutting our mortgage in half and moving to an unsafe neighborhood or an hour commute from school and work would still not save enough money to send both children to private.

You don't seem to get it - being upset about not being able to pay the high cost of private is not "whining", having misplaced priorities, or acting entitled. I am not saying other options (public or parish) are bad - just expressing disbelief and outrage that the ever increasing tuition has become so outrageously high that 99% of the population can not afford to pay without assistance of one form or another. These schools needed to be called out, as they are no longer for a broad range of children and families (as they used to be) - now they are for the uber wealthy (top 1% - $400k and above) and low income. A huge percent of the population is cut out. Maybe schools should put some energy into diversifying their socio-economic population.

And were is all that money going? People should be outraged! Every year tuition goes up about $1K. If there are 400 students, that is a $400,000 raise every year! Wish I got that raise or a quarter of that raise every single year!

Just saying things are getting out of control and the top privates seem to have lost their sense of reality when it come to tuition. $41K for 4th grade is a little crazy, especially when you know it goes up every year and by the time the 4th grader graduates tuition may be $50K per year. That's approximately $100k a year pre-tax per child. Soon even the 1%ers won't be able to afford it!


We are nowhere near the 1% and yet we are full pay with one in private HS and another on the way. In order to make this happen, we were strategic with a long-range plan. First, we never moved from our starter home (which is incredibly well located but on the small side for DCUM land). Second, we limited ourselves to two kids because we knew we couldn't pay for three tuitions. Finally, we thought long and hard about the best way to combine public and private. For us, it made sense to use the public schools through middle school and then transition to private for HS. Private school is doable for the less than 1%ers but it does require trade offs.


+1 we did something very similar.
Anonymous
Post 01/16/2016 00:34     Subject: Winning the lottery and paying for tuition!
Excess often starts in the administrative staff. At our top tier private there are so many people that I have no idea what they do all day. And salaries for teachers may not be high, but heads of school and administrators make high salaries. The head at our school is reported to make over $350,000! Hello 2%er!
Anonymous
Post 01/15/2016 20:04     Subject: Winning the lottery and paying for tuition!
Let's say they spend $200,000 on this and have 400 students. If they cut this, it is $500 per student back to you. That is not going to do it.
Anonymous
Post 01/15/2016 19:51     Subject: Winning the lottery and paying for tuition!
Anonymous wrote:Private schools are not making a profit - I have attended my head's meeting on the budget where he goes over all the expenses and then shows enrollment and then shows what tuition has to be. I have simplified it but basically I left realizing that it costs a lot to run a school. Health care, basic benefits, salaries, facility set costs, FA take up a majority of the revenue. I don't see schools having a choice unless they pay teachers way less and risk not having great teachers or drop FA altogether. I don't like either of these options so I pay the tuition.


In my observation there are a lot of staff costs there don't need to be. Schools spend a lot on what is basically advertising: marketing and promotion, shiny magazines and brochures, webmasters. Not to mention building expensive new facilities. I know they do this because they think it's necessary to distinguish themselves from other schools, but it's an arms race and it's expensive. If they were just paying teachers in regular cinder block school hallways and sending out regular paper newsletters written by the principal rather than a communications professional, they'd save a lot.
Anonymous
Post 01/15/2016 19:38     Subject: Winning the lottery and paying for tuition!
Private schools are not making a profit - I have attended my head's meeting on the budget where he goes over all the expenses and then shows enrollment and then shows what tuition has to be. I have simplified it but basically I left realizing that it costs a lot to run a school. Health care, basic benefits, salaries, facility set costs, FA take up a majority of the revenue. I don't see schools having a choice unless they pay teachers way less and risk not having great teachers or drop FA altogether. I don't like either of these options so I pay the tuition.
Anonymous
Post 01/15/2016 19:09     Subject: Winning the lottery and paying for tuition!
12:40 - What is the tuition at your private HS? Only one child in private is different than two! And if your tuition is $20K then that is a different story as well. No one on this board is complaining about the less expensive options like parish school, etc. They are complaining about the top school with the highest tuition.

What does "nowhere near 1%" mean? $250K? $150K? Run the numbers people, if you have one child in a $40K school (what we are talking about) and you only make $100K (before taxes) then you wouldn't have much left to pay your mortgage and other costs of living.

Also, we limited ourselves to two kids in order to attend private school as well, but it didn't matter because tuition is just too high and we couldn't cut it after trying for a number of years.
Anonymous
Post 01/15/2016 13:06     Subject: Winning the lottery and paying for tuition!
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Sorry people, but if you live in DC or the close-in suburbs a $900K/$1M house is not that luxurious. We live in a 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath 1,900 square foot home in a modest neighborhood. Nothing fancy, original kitchen and baths from 40s, no second home, no boat, etc and we struggled with big tuition ($35-$40K). Cutting our mortgage in half and moving to an unsafe neighborhood or an hour commute from school and work would still not save enough money to send both children to private.

You don't seem to get it - being upset about not being able to pay the high cost of private is not "whining", having misplaced priorities, or acting entitled. I am not saying other options (public or parish) are bad - just expressing disbelief and outrage that the ever increasing tuition has become so outrageously high that 99% of the population can not afford to pay without assistance of one form or another. These schools needed to be called out, as they are no longer for a broad range of children and families (as they used to be) - now they are for the uber wealthy (top 1% - $400k and above) and low income. A huge percent of the population is cut out. Maybe schools should put some energy into diversifying their socio-economic population.

And were is all that money going? People should be outraged! Every year tuition goes up about $1K. If there are 400 students, that is a $400,000 raise every year! Wish I got that raise or a quarter of that raise every single year!

Just saying things are getting out of control and the top privates seem to have lost their sense of reality when it come to tuition. $41K for 4th grade is a little crazy, especially when you know it goes up every year and by the time the 4th grader graduates tuition may be $50K per year. That's approximately $100k a year pre-tax per child. Soon even the 1%ers won't be able to afford it!


We are nowhere near the 1% and yet we are full pay with one in private HS and another on the way. In order to make this happen, we were strategic with a long-range plan. First, we never moved from our starter home (which is incredibly well located but on the small side for DCUM land). Second, we limited ourselves to two kids because we knew we couldn't pay for three tuitions. Finally, we thought long and hard about the best way to combine public and private. For us, it made sense to use the public schools through middle school and then transition to private for HS. Private school is doable for the less than 1%ers but it does require trade offs.


What is your HHI and how long were you saving for private before your first child started private?
Anonymous
Post 01/15/2016 13:03     Subject: Winning the lottery and paying for tuition!
There are a few $40k/year independent schools and there are many more $10-12K parochial or church-based schools and the vast majority of public school parents are very happy with their children's education. Everyone has choices, but not everyone has the same choices. What's possible depends on your life stage - if you have children at 25 is different than when you have your kids at 35 or 40. And, it makes a huge difference whether you have an only child or two or three or more.

Affordability among people making over $250k/year is very subjective and a matter of your own priorities. You're incredibly fortunate if you never have to every worry about making ends meet and have a sense of professional and financial security. But, whether you can afford a house in Cleveland Park or Chevy Chase is another matter. I have a nice house in a great neighborhood, but it's not whats in the shelter magazines or HGTV. We never think we can afford a new car. But our administrative assistants have newer, more expensive cars than we do. If it is a high enough priority, the 2% certainly earn enough to afford private school, but the trade-offs may not make sense to most families.

If you're a 35 year old doctor who can't afford private schools because of your loans, why didn't you work on an Indian reservation or move to an underserved area with the National Health Service Corps? You made a decision that was right for you and that decision has other ramifications. We can't expect sympathy from anyone except those making more than us and they aren't ever very sympathetic to us ne'er do wells.
Anonymous
Post 01/15/2016 12:40     Subject: Winning the lottery and paying for tuition!
Anonymous wrote:Sorry people, but if you live in DC or the close-in suburbs a $900K/$1M house is not that luxurious. We live in a 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath 1,900 square foot home in a modest neighborhood. Nothing fancy, original kitchen and baths from 40s, no second home, no boat, etc and we struggled with big tuition ($35-$40K). Cutting our mortgage in half and moving to an unsafe neighborhood or an hour commute from school and work would still not save enough money to send both children to private.

You don't seem to get it - being upset about not being able to pay the high cost of private is not "whining", having misplaced priorities, or acting entitled. I am not saying other options (public or parish) are bad - just expressing disbelief and outrage that the ever increasing tuition has become so outrageously high that 99% of the population can not afford to pay without assistance of one form or another. These schools needed to be called out, as they are no longer for a broad range of children and families (as they used to be) - now they are for the uber wealthy (top 1% - $400k and above) and low income. A huge percent of the population is cut out. Maybe schools should put some energy into diversifying their socio-economic population.

And were is all that money going? People should be outraged! Every year tuition goes up about $1K. If there are 400 students, that is a $400,000 raise every year! Wish I got that raise or a quarter of that raise every single year!

Just saying things are getting out of control and the top privates seem to have lost their sense of reality when it come to tuition. $41K for 4th grade is a little crazy, especially when you know it goes up every year and by the time the 4th grader graduates tuition may be $50K per year. That's approximately $100k a year pre-tax per child. Soon even the 1%ers won't be able to afford it!


We are nowhere near the 1% and yet we are full pay with one in private HS and another on the way. In order to make this happen, we were strategic with a long-range plan. First, we never moved from our starter home (which is incredibly well located but on the small side for DCUM land). Second, we limited ourselves to two kids because we knew we couldn't pay for three tuitions. Finally, we thought long and hard about the best way to combine public and private. For us, it made sense to use the public schools through middle school and then transition to private for HS. Private school is doable for the less than 1%ers but it does require trade offs.
Anonymous
Post 01/15/2016 12:25     Subject: Winning the lottery and paying for tuition!
Anonymous wrote:Sorry people, but if you live in DC or the close-in suburbs a $900K/$1M house is not that luxurious. We live in a 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath 1,900 square foot home in a modest neighborhood. Nothing fancy, original kitchen and baths from 40s, no second home, no boat, etc and we struggled with big tuition ($35-$40K). Cutting our mortgage in half and moving to an unsafe neighborhood or an hour commute from school and work would still not save enough money to send both children to private.

You don't seem to get it - being upset about not being able to pay the high cost of private is not "whining", having misplaced priorities, or acting entitled. I am not saying other options (public or parish) are bad - just expressing disbelief and outrage that the ever increasing tuition has become so outrageously high that 99% of the population can not afford to pay without assistance of one form or another. These schools needed to be called out, as they are no longer for a broad range of children and families (as they used to be) - now they are for the uber wealthy (top 1% - $400k and above) and low income. A huge percent of the population is cut out. Maybe schools should put some energy into diversifying their socio-economic population.

And were is all that money going? People should be outraged! Every year tuition goes up about $1K. If there are 400 students, that is a $400,000 raise every year! Wish I got that raise or a quarter of that raise every single year!

Just saying things are getting out of control and the top privates seem to have lost their sense of reality when it come to tuition. $41K for 4th grade is a little crazy, especially when you know it goes up every year and by the time the 4th grader graduates tuition may be $50K per year. That's approximately $100k a year pre-tax per child. Soon even the 1%ers won't be able to afford it!


Well said. Totally agree. Third world income stratification in effect.
Anonymous
Post 01/15/2016 11:27     Subject: Winning the lottery and paying for tuition!
Sorry people, but if you live in DC or the close-in suburbs a $900K/$1M house is not that luxurious. We live in a 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath 1,900 square foot home in a modest neighborhood. Nothing fancy, original kitchen and baths from 40s, no second home, no boat, etc and we struggled with big tuition ($35-$40K). Cutting our mortgage in half and moving to an unsafe neighborhood or an hour commute from school and work would still not save enough money to send both children to private.

You don't seem to get it - being upset about not being able to pay the high cost of private is not "whining", having misplaced priorities, or acting entitled. I am not saying other options (public or parish) are bad - just expressing disbelief and outrage that the ever increasing tuition has become so outrageously high that 99% of the population can not afford to pay without assistance of one form or another. These schools needed to be called out, as they are no longer for a broad range of children and families (as they used to be) - now they are for the uber wealthy (top 1% - $400k and above) and low income. A huge percent of the population is cut out. Maybe schools should put some energy into diversifying their socio-economic population.

And were is all that money going? People should be outraged! Every year tuition goes up about $1K. If there are 400 students, that is a $400,000 raise every year! Wish I got that raise or a quarter of that raise every single year!

Just saying things are getting out of control and the top privates seem to have lost their sense of reality when it come to tuition. $41K for 4th grade is a little crazy, especially when you know it goes up every year and by the time the 4th grader graduates tuition may be $50K per year. That's approximately $100k a year pre-tax per child. Soon even the 1%ers won't be able to afford it!
Anonymous
Post 01/15/2016 10:28     Subject: Winning the lottery and paying for tuition!
Anonymous wrote:Oh f**k off and send your kids to public school with the rest of the 99%. Such whining. Private school is a LUXURY and not a right.


We don't want our kids in the public school because is is mediocre at best. It is worth the sacrifice to have our kids get an exceptional education.