Reply #3: The operative word here is "non-profit".

[Turbineguy]

When I was in the Netherlands I went to a "private" secondary school. The school was set up as a non-profit foundation. The school got money from the government and the tuition was the difference between the cost and the subsidy. Thus it was quite low. (At the time about $50 per year). In addition, you had to buy books.

As I understand it such schools get their money from the government and are held to a standard. They give a final exam (six years worth) that is approved by the government department. Since everybody was interested in graduating, I don't know if there was some pass rate that had to be met.

It was one of the best schools in the country. The fact that one of the Royals went there didn't hurt either.

There's plenty of talent in this country to run good schools. But too much is wrong with the way they are funded that funnels money to financiers, contractors, publishers and the lot. If the entire chain was non-profit (that's not the same thing as lousy pay) Our system would soar.

IMO the reason public schools fail is because so much is funneled into profits and commissions and diverted from actual education. The taxpayers who think they should get something for their money, in this case, educated kids, are getting fleeced. The repub's answer to this is to make the entire chain for-profit. Because apparently, failure should be rewarded.