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How is public kindergarten more expensive than private?!

teacherjessteacherjess member
in Pre-School and Daycare

We deliberately moved to a great public school district, intending to send DD and any other children there. We knew they had 1/2 day kindergarten but a before and after school program. DD is about to turn four and I am finally getting around to looking into things so we can plan for the next baby, and holy cow. DH and I both work full-time teaching, and so we need about 20 minutes of before-school care, a program that watches her for the 1/2 day of school that she's not in kindergarten, and after-school care for about 30 minutes.

By the time we pay for before-school, a "kindertime" program for the other 1/2 day, and after-school, we are paying more than if we just sent her to the local Catholic school, which runs on the exact same hours that DH's school runs (and is next door to his school...they share a parking lot). I am kind of having sticker shock. I know we'd be paying for childcare for the times we're not there, but we're really only talking about four hours of care a day, total. It doesn't get much better for the upper grades, either, because the school hours are so weird that we'd still need before and after school care, which is still only slightly less than the private school. I have SO been looking forward to having some extra money once DD is in public school...looks like that was a pipe dream....

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Re: How is public kindergarten more expensive than private?!

  • Mrs MannersMrs Manners member
    It's pretty much the same here for prek (we haven't made it to K yet). You have to pay for before school care, after school care, every holiday (Christmas, spring break, etc) and all summer and all meals. We decided to do private prek instead of public because the cost difference is almost negligible (and we can redirect $2500 of funds to a scholarship program which helps offset ds's tuition and gives us a tax credit). Private school will be more expensive for us after prek, but we are currently exploring that as an option because it might not be THAT much more. 
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  • cmh06cmh06
    Do you teach elementary school?  Can you or DH take her to your school?  I plan on getting permission to bring DD to whichever school I'm at once she starts kindergarten.
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  • CD+ALCD+AL member
    Plus, you might look into financial aid at the private school.  DS' school has a great financial aid program. It's pretty amazing.  Granted, I do a lot at the school to help out, and parents are kind of expected to be really involved on all levels including fundraising, which is more than just the normal wrapping paper sales, etc.  It's totally worth it for us though.
     
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  • macchiattomacchiatto member
    image-auntie-:

    It's not the public kindergarten, it's the babysitting you need to buy to make it work. It doesn't matter that she only spends 20 minutes in before care, they have to staff it the entire time.

    Maybe you could find a local mom to put her on the bus for less than before care and a high school kid for after school if you don't want to send her to Catholic school.

    This is what I'd look into, too.

    fraternal twin boys born january 2009
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  • teacherjessteacherjess member
    We both teach at high schools, but the benefit of her being next to DH's school is that she can walk over there and just hang out with him before and after school for the short time he's there. Even if we opted out of the before and after-school care and Kindertime and paid someone in our neighborhood, it would be almost even with the tuition of the Catholic school. I am just sort of surprised by the whole cost in general. I currently pay an arm and a leg for daycare and I was really hoping the cost would go down once she was in public school-- instead, it would be staying about the same or only a little less-- plus we'll have another in daycare at the same time. I think I need to win the lottery. Maybe that's my solution.
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  • e_dogsgirle_dogsgirl

    could she stay at the daycare you are currently at before and after school especially if you plan to have an infant too then you only have to pick up at one place.

    DS starts K this fall and we will have a new baby in a couple months so the baby will start daycare about the same time K starts.  The school bus will pick up and drop off at daycare and our rates for him will go from $135/week to $80/week. Although I'll start paying for the infant at $160/week. 

     

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  • JillAlyJillAly member

    I'm going through the exact same situation now.  We moved to the suburbs so my son could go to public school this fall and I'm shocked at how much before/after care costs.  I've been looking in to some other alternatives including the cost of a babysitter, au pair and before/after care.  None of the options save me a lot of money and I'm having sticker shock over that as well! 

    The au pair seems to be the best option because (if you have the room in your house and don't mind someone living with you) you get the most out of it.  In addition to the before/after care, it would give you the ability to go out to dinner and have a built in babysitter at all times. 

    The other option I'm looking into is a combination of several things.  I need about 1 hour before kindergarten and 4 hours after.  So I'm looking at hiring a babysitter for the morning part and then after care for just the afternoon.  We thought if we did this, once we got to know other kids/moms, we might be able to get rid of the babysitter in the morning and have a local mom put our son on the bus. 

    Frankly, I'm not liking any of my options!

     

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  • teacherjessteacherjess member
    imageJillAly:

    I'm going through the exact same situation now.  We moved to the suburbs so my son could go to public school this fall and I'm shocked at how much before/after care costs.  I've been looking in to some other alternatives including the cost of a babysitter, au pair and before/after care.  None of the options save me a lot of money and I'm having sticker shock over that as well! 

    The au pair seems to be the best option because (if you have the room in your house and don't mind someone living with you) you get the most out of it.  In addition to the before/after care, it would give you the ability to go out to dinner and have a built in babysitter at all times. 

    The other option I'm looking into is a combination of several things.  I need about 1 hour before kindergarten and 4 hours after.  So I'm looking at hiring a babysitter for the morning part and then after care for just the afternoon.  We thought if we did this, once we got to know other kids/moms, we might be able to get rid of the babysitter in the morning and have a local mom put our son on the bus. 

    Frankly, I'm not liking any of my options!

     

    Glad to see others are in the same boat (not glad, but you know what I mean). The price difference is pretty large-- if we did before school/Kindertime/after school at the actual school, it'd run us about 9k a year. If we had someone in the neighborhood arrange before school/get her off the bus after AM preschool/after school, it'd be about 5k. If she goes to the private school next to DH's school, she gets a discount because it's affiliated with his school and it's about 3k, plus if she stays and goes to grade school there, she can later go to his private high school for free. Hate to put all our eggs in that basket, though-- what if DH doesn't keep that job for some reason? I hate not knowing.

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