As noted, however, most private schools are small elementary schools that are far less expensive than high schools to run and require far less managerial attention. Moreover, many private schools receive public support for transportation and special education, usually pay no property taxes, and rely on private donors for contributions. Because private schools can be selective, they can exclude academically or socially difficult children, eliminating many services required in the public sector. Few private school faculties are unionized, and as a consequence private schools generally pay their teachers very low wages. I know of no credible study of the economics of private sector education that convinces me that when all the relevant variables are taken into account, private schools are either more economical or better managed.
Private schools are status communities.
Families are attracted to them because of certain special interests, including religious orthodoxy, social snobbery, academic specialty, or educational philosophy. Many private schools are excellent, the best are outstanding. Some, however, are mediocre, and the worst are appalling. Some private schools have facilities and resources far greater than many colleges, but in others the children do not get enough to eat, discipline is brutal, and the life of the mind is stifled. In short, the social, educational, and economic geography of the private school world is highly varied, more akin to the geography of California than of Kansas.