[quote=AN]CAR, my numbers were from greatschools.org 3-4 years ago. It was $12-13k back then. So, it seems like there are a lot of budget cut over the last few years. But based on the parents I talked to with kids in public schools, the class size has also risen over the last few years as well. So, although the expenditure went down, our children got the short end of that stick. At a private school, $10k will get you a class size that’s 1/2 of what it is in public school. So, something is not adding up. I actually don’t want spending cut for education, I just want to get more for our tax dollar. Maybe it’s the fact that public school is much more top heavy (as you stated) that’s the reason why we’re spending so much and get so little.
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You can check the numbers for the past 10+ years on the link CAR provided. SD unified maxed out at $10,500 few years ago. Poway unified is 20% lower.

Private schools keep the cost down by turning away high-cost students. When my friend’s kid fell behind the grade level in reading the administrator told my friend to get a tutor or take the kid out. There are far fewer subsidized lunches, special needs or remedial cases in private schools.