Would you move to get into a good school district?

traveltheworld · May 2013

Ok, I know I'm thinking WAY ahead since DS is only 11 months, but housing prices are rising in our area and I don't know if I should act now or not.

Back story - we bought the home of our dreams 3 years ago in a great neighbourhood with a great public elementary school (ranked 6th in the city). Due to over-enrollment, the school district re-drew the boundaries last September and now we would have to go to a pretty bad school (ranked in the lowest 25th percentile in the city). There is a good private school close to our house, but it's $7,000/year. We can afford it, but I really didn't want to pay for private school.

Like I said, housing prices in my neighbourhood have been going up a lot, so technically I could sell now and move into a good school district. On the other hand, there is still 5 more years so maybe the boundaries would be re-drawn again. And I suppose I could pay for private school, or does elementary school even matter that much?

sugar212 · May 2013

when the time gets closer, couldn't you do open enrollment? I live in a city with a lot of schools in the same district and there is always an open enrollment period.

Reilly626 · May 2013

We are waiting the 5 years. Market is only going up, why move now? We have to move due to schools also, so sad bc we love our home and neighbors.

BeckyTheEngineer · May 2013

I would move for a better school. Not necessarily immediately, but before your child would start school. At least in my area, changing district boundaries is a long, slow, overdue process and I would think that it would be very unlikely that it would be changed back unless there is some major demographic shift in your area pretty much right now.

thedash · May 2013

Yes I would move if possible in that situation. Whether you do it soon completely depends on housing prices in your neighborhood and the area you would move to. Interest rates are amazing right now but the flip side is that inventory is low in desirable areas so you may pay a premium for the new house.

We have considered moving to improve DH's commute and because while our elementary school choices are good the high school is not great. We have over 100K in equity in this house but would have to spend double our current mortgage balance to move where we want. So we are staying put for a few more years.

shannm · May 2013

Since you are in your dream house, I would pay for the private school, if it is a good one. 7K is a really good deal. You have to consider how much your property tax would change if you moved.

Iblamethebeer · May 2013

I would absolutely move because of school districts. On the other hand, 7k REALLY isn't bad for private school.

One thing to keep in mind in terms of timing WHEN you move is whether/to what extent this change will affect your neighborhood and its housing prices. Is it an area that generally attracts hip (childless) people and/or people willing to pay for private school? if so, property values will probably stay where they are and you can wait to sell. but if your neighbors are primarily other families with small kids who moved here for the schools, then I would think there's a good chance values will go down over the next few years, and you're better off selling before the market catches on and the neighborhood comes to be seen as less desirable.

KL777 · May 2013

Where I live, you have the option for your child to go to a school that is not in your district. You just have to pay tuition (tax amount) for that out-of-your-zone public school, which when I looked into it, it was very affordable.

I'm not sure I would haul up and move unless you really didn't want to pay for private school. I definitely would not have DS go to a low performing school though.

Pips09 · May 2013

lasposa425:
In general, yes, I would move to get into a better school district. However, if this is your dream home, could you consider the private school?

Exactly this.

Bella427 · May 2013

We bought our starter home in an area with mediocre schools, before we had kids. B/c of the recession, etc. we're still there, 8 years later! DD starts kinder this fall. I did a lot of research into the school transfer process (ours is a lottery) and we planned to put our house on the market if she didn't get in. Luckily she got in so we are not forced to move yet. We'll probably save for another couple of years and then move into that same school zone, assuming we're happy with her experience there.

traveltheworld · May 2013

There is no lottery or open enrollment where we live, so unless the boundaries get re-drawn, we'd be stuck with the bad school. Our neighbourhood is surrounded by private schools (6 within a 10 minute drive), and most of our neighbours send their children to private schools so I have very little faith that the boundaries will get re-drawn again.

On one hand, I love our neighbourhood and we bought our house at the absolute lowest point in the market - the prices have gone up so much that I don't think we'd ever be able to move back here again if we sold our house. On the other hand, DH and I plan on having more than 1 child, so the $7K per child per year will add up fast.

2chatter · May 2013

Private school for elementary is afforable enough, but typically the expense more than doules for the upper grades. We therefore have stayed where we are (terrible public schools) until now. We are looking to move before our oldest gets to 4th grade (to ease the social transition and let her put down roots). It gave us years longer to evaluate public school districts and neighborhoods. The downside of all that research is, after reviewing demographic studies, school district ratings, reviews on areas from people who live there and commute times....we now have some pretty small areas where we are willing to move. That makes house hunting hard, but we are pretty confident in our choices. So my advice is to pay for private school until later elementary grades arise, then when you do move, you will be certain you are not moving to the districts that are good right now and will trend down. With a 4th grader, K and a one year old, we really have to look at the schools in an 18 year range, and that means we are limited to districts with great long term track records and great projections. If you only have one child, but the time you get to later elemetary, the window to worry about the decline of public schools is much smaller.

salt78 · May 2013

Yes absolutely. Private school is not an option for us. (Financially we could probably swing it. I just hate private school.)

Mustardseed2007 · May 2013

We bought our house based on the school district. If the lines were redrawn we would probably move but we would do it when the time was right, but before our LO started school.

I would be really upset about the lines being drawn, though, not only b/c we lost the school but also b/c of the potential effect on our home value. The most important school in our particular neighborhood is actually the middle school. There are two middle schools fairly close and one is very good but the other is below average.

The prices for houses in our neighborhood are drastically lower if you are not zoned to the good middle school - think at least 75-100K. So, unfortunately, I would expect with redistricting, you may have taken some sort of hit on your home value.

skyejo · May 2013

Ugh, that sucks! I would definitely move for better schools. Our house is in a pretty good school district but the district next to us is much better. We will be moving in the next few years for this reason.

blushingbride_08 · May 2013

Yes I'm moving bc of the schools and my LO is only 14 months. I don't like uprooting kids once that make local friends. My dh moved during his childhood and still recalls how he had a hard time making bang keeping friends. I'd do it now instead of later. GL!

whynotwhynot · May 2013

I would move for a good school district, but would wait until it was more of an issue. A lot can happen in five years that could influence where you would want to live and moving twice would be hugely impractical.

Manda-Kay · May 2013

We live in a really bad school district but LOVE where we live. We are Catholic and our church has a school. I could send 4 kids to our church's school for the price I pay for DS to go to his current daycare. As of right now, that's the plan - send DS (and any other little ones) to our church's school.

ETA: wanted to add that if DS has a disability, I'd move and send him to a better public school. I'm a special education teacher and private schools don't have to follow the same rules as public schools.

IBackBevo · May 2013

One thing to consider is whether your property taxes will go up in the new school district. I live in Texas and we don't have income taxes, just property taxes. Property tax rates can vary dramatically depending on where you live--usually as a result of the school district you are in. Where I currently live, my property tax is about 2.25%. But if I moved just a couple of miles away and was in a different district, my tax rate might go up to as high as over 4%. The difference in approximately 2% per year taxes on the cost of our home/property (or a similarly priced home) will more than pay for private school for our DS. And, quite honestly, I think even a mediocre private school where I live is probably better than the best public schools.

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