<p>wis75, you are very fortunate to have wonderful public schools. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. I live in the wealthiest county in my state, but the quality of the schools varies by district --- and we have a district in every town, no matter how small. My own district does not properly prepare students for selective colleges. I have worked for years to try to change things --- meetings with administrators, impassioned pleas to the board of education, organizing parent groups, etc. --- the district simply does not see that its AP's are AP in name only, that its lack of NMScholars is not due to lack of intelligent students, etc., etc. I still try to change things even AFTER putting my kids in a very demaning parochial prep school. Not every parent who moves to private schools simply abandons his/her public district! </p>
<p>So, the point? The reasons parents put their kids into private schools are not always as simple as it may seem --- and schools, public and private, vary widely. We have to do what is best for our kids, and those of us who do have options are very lucky. I will always choose to do what is best for my own child, and I don't think that's selfish.</p>