I’d like to make some observations and give some perspective on costs of public education and day school/yeshiva tuition.
I live in CT. Some of you know that I am involved in local government. Our town’s education budget (which is middle of the road) is such that the annual per pupil cost is $14,000.
Area (within one hour drive, but inside CT) day school/yeshiva tuition averages $20,000 per student per year.
Students living more than one mile away (in the same town/city as the public school or Jewish school) get transportation provided by the municipality. The towns also pick up the cost of school nurse and many secular textbooks at the Jewish schools.
Public schools pay their staff substantially higher wages.
Why should it cost 25% less to educate a public school student? Yeshivos/Day Schools don’t enjoy economies of scale. They don’t have 1,000-3,000 students in a typical school building. Classes don’t usually have 25-29 students as in public schools. A Yeshiva might need to order 25 copies of a high school math textbook, our high school would need 600. The quantity price is much lower. The same applies to most purchases. The Yeshiva’s grounds will not be maintained (grass cut, snow plowed) by the town’s dept. of public works, etc.
Also, when a Yeshiva buys or builds a school they need to raise all the money to cover the cost. Our state reimburses municipalities about 50% of the cost of new school construction.
Outside NY, Yeshivas/Day schools must be accredited to issue recognizable diplomas and no one would send their children to a school that did not issue such a diploma. This requires that the teachers of secular subjects be certified and qualified, AND that the required class hours of instruction actually take place. My state even mandates how many hours of Physical Education each child receives by grade range.
Having been on the board of three different day schools/yeshivos, I can state that the tuition does not cover the per student cost. It is necessary to constantly fund-raise to cover overhead and improvements.