Alternatives

It’s March.  That means it is re-registration time at the Christian school where the Davis family attends.  Their two children, a twelve year old boy entering 7th grade, middle school and the athletic program for the first time, and an eight year old girl going into third grade, have been in this same Christian school since pre-school.

Today, they face a new problem.

Last year, tuition and fees for second and sixth grade, with the sibling discount, cost the Davis family $14,500, along with some of the various field trips, special purchases, lunch and other expenses.  But in order to meet increased budget expenses, the school raised its tuition rate across the board by $1,000.  In addition to that, the jump from sixth to seventh grade is an additional $2,000 and there is a $350 fee for participating in athletics in two or more sports.  That raises their total to $18,850.  And that’s the problem.  The Davis family, already making significant cuts in their family budget, trying to squeeze as much life out of two aging automobiles as they can, cutting back on recreation and vacation time, and in the past year, even making adjustments in their food budget, doesn’t have the resources to make the additional payments required. 

This isn’t just a story to illustrate a point.  It is a real situation faced by families in Christian schools every year.  This particular family happens to be one I know about.   As a family that cares about the education of their children, and believes that a quality Christian education is the best they can provide, what are their alternatives?

1.  Home school isn’t an option.  Mrs. Davis must continue to work in order to help provide resources for their family.  If she stayed home, the loss of income would create an even tighter situation than they already face.

2.  The Davises looked at another school in a church a few miles away from their home.  It goes through the 8th grade, so they would have to find another school for their son in two years.  This particular school is significantly less expensive, about 30% less, in fact.  But it has a high teacher turnover rate due to the low salaries it pays.  It is not accredited.  They have had problems keeping an English teacher in the middle school and finally hired one of their substitutes, a parent who is about 20 hours short of a degree, and doesn’t have many hours in English.  In addition, they offer few electives, and Spanish is taught via a video curriculum.  Their son wants to play football, a sport not offered at this school.  And there is a question about some achievement test scores in the lower grades.

What do you think this family opted to do?  They kept their daughter in the Christian school and sent their son to public school. 

I think we can do better than that, don’t you?