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From: timlee@bnrmtv.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.sci,net.politics
Subject: Re: privatization of education
Message-ID: <491@bnrmtv.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 18-Jul-86 17:30:50 EDT
Article-I.D.: bnrmtv.491
Posted: Fri Jul 18 17:30:50 1986
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> > 	Now, by "privatizing" the school system, the children of parents who
> > a) can't afford or b) don't want to pay for [expensive] private education can't
> > are being punished, since the money is no longer there for the public schools.
> 
> False.  Private schooling is less expensive than public schooling.  It
> appears that public schooling is cheaper because the money is collected
> by taxation.  If public schooling were as cheap as private schooling,
> only the very poorest of the poor would be unable to send their kids
> to private schools.

Private schools may have lower costs per student from the school's point of
view, but from the student/family point of view it is more expensive.  A
student attending public school has his education paid for by his family's
taxes.  One who attends private school pays tuition IN ADDITION to taxes
which support public schools.  (Note, though that the public schools don't
get the extra subsidy since school funding is by student; the governments
keep the taxes not used by schools).  

Summary:  a student who attends private school:

a.  adds money and population to private school s/he attends
b.  subtracts money and population to public school s/he would have attended
c.  adds money to the state and local goverments (unused school subsidy)

Note that the money the public school loses is constant, so from the school's
point of view it does not matter (in an economic sense) whether the student's
family was rich or poor.  Whether the public school loses or gains (in an
economic sense) depends on whether the marginal cost of educating one more
student is less or more than the lost subsidy.