Independent schools don’t cater to the wealthy, says think tank

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – When you think of BC’s independent schools, do you think of the province’s wealthy and elite?

A study from The Fraser Institute suggests it is a myth that private schools only cater to the well-off.

“When we look at the income for families at all independent schools versus families whose kids are in public schools, what we see is that independent school families’ income is a little over 14 per cent higher — at a little over $88,000 versus public school families at a little over $77,000. The problem with that data is that the independent school families include the elite schools,” says report co-author Jason Clemens, executive president of the right-leaning policy group.

“When you remove those schools and only look at the non-elite independents — which are largely religious or alternative education-type schools — the income levels for those families versus families who have kids in public schools is essentially the same.”

Clemens believes that is an important insight.

“It means that, by and large, most families who choose to send their kids to independent schools have basically the same income as parents who send their kids to public schools,” he tells NEWS 1130, adding that elite, preparatory schools only make up eight per cent of independents in BC.

So what is the free-enterprise-focused think tank hoping you’ll take away from the report?

“One of the things we have tried to do over the past year and a half is to clarify some misunderstanding about the independent school sector in British Columbia,” says Clemens.

“There has been repeated debate as to whether or not the province should continue to offer a 50 per cent voucher to independent schools when parents send their kids to those schools. This paper looked at whether or not there is a real income gap between families who choose independent schools and families who choose public schools. There really isn’t, once you remove elite schools.”

Clemens maintains the Fraser Institute is only trying to provide additional information so people “understand the nature of the independent school sector in the province.”

“It’s pretty clear that BC has one of the best K-12 systems in the country in terms of what educational outcomes we are able to achieve and how much it costs the taxpayers,” he adds.

“The strength of our system, in part, is because we have such a large, vibrant independent school sector. BC has the second-largest independent school sector in the country behind only Quebec.”