Suburban Schools' Catch-22
Public schools drive the suburban housing market: the better the schools, the higher the prices. But there's a catch: the better the schools, generally, the higher the taxes. "That's the whole point," says a suburban parent in a recent New York Times article (abstract only), "you pay the high taxes, but you get the good schools."
Except when you don't: the Times article tells the sad tale of families who moved to high-priced suburbs, only to find that the public schools are too crowded and too "bare-bones" for their kids, whom they drag back into the city to attend private schools, on a daily basis as commuters or by moving them back in.
But other recent reports say suburban public schools are anything but barebones. In the July/August issue of The American Enterprise, a former Wilmette, Ill., school board member says “spending on special programs, technology, and ‘enrichments’ actually crowds out time for math, reading, writing, geography, and history.” The magazine blames wealthy school board members acting in cahoots with unionized teachers to lower class size and upgrade extra-curricular programs, granting the parents prestige and the union more teaching spots.
Whether suburban public schools are too stripped down or too buffed, both the liberal Times and the conservative American Enterprise seem to agree that parents aren't getting their money's worth in the burbs, and that's more than a shame. "Harvard law professor Elizabeth Warren studied bankruptcy filings in America," says one American Enterprise article. She found "that the biggest squeeze on middle- and upper-middle-class families came from high mortgage payments and escalating property taxes on homes in towns with desirable public schools."
The common sense solution may be to shop for housing in communities with low- to middling house prices, close to private schools. By saving on both mortgage and school taxes, you'll be able to afford a private school that delivers a solid education. Chances are, you'll get more house for your money, in an area that needs your renovation dollars.
Except when you don't: the Times article tells the sad tale of families who moved to high-priced suburbs, only to find that the public schools are too crowded and too "bare-bones" for their kids, whom they drag back into the city to attend private schools, on a daily basis as commuters or by moving them back in.
But other recent reports say suburban public schools are anything but barebones. In the July/August issue of The American Enterprise, a former Wilmette, Ill., school board member says “spending on special programs, technology, and ‘enrichments’ actually crowds out time for math, reading, writing, geography, and history.” The magazine blames wealthy school board members acting in cahoots with unionized teachers to lower class size and upgrade extra-curricular programs, granting the parents prestige and the union more teaching spots.
Whether suburban public schools are too stripped down or too buffed, both the liberal Times and the conservative American Enterprise seem to agree that parents aren't getting their money's worth in the burbs, and that's more than a shame. "Harvard law professor Elizabeth Warren studied bankruptcy filings in America," says one American Enterprise article. She found "that the biggest squeeze on middle- and upper-middle-class families came from high mortgage payments and escalating property taxes on homes in towns with desirable public schools."
The common sense solution may be to shop for housing in communities with low- to middling house prices, close to private schools. By saving on both mortgage and school taxes, you'll be able to afford a private school that delivers a solid education. Chances are, you'll get more house for your money, in an area that needs your renovation dollars.
posted by burb at 5:38 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home