Life During Recession Time: Schools
What will be the impact of the economic turmoil on Brooklyn schools? Will private schools like Packer, Berkeley Carroll, Friends, Saint Ann’s and Poly Prep see high rates of attrition? (We heard that close to 50 families have given notice to Trinity in Manhattan that their kids won’t be back next year.) It’s no secret…
What will be the impact of the economic turmoil on Brooklyn schools? Will private schools like Packer, Berkeley Carroll, Friends, Saint Ann’s and Poly Prep see high rates of attrition? (We heard that close to 50 families have given notice to Trinity in Manhattan that their kids won’t be back next year.) It’s no secret that many of the thirty-something parents sending their single-digit-aged children to these schools get assistance from their sixty- and seventy-something parents; the thirty-somethings may be losing their jobs (or just making less money) while the grandparents all of a sudden are facing the prospects of their retirement on half the savings they thought they had. In this scenario, will private schools be forced to cut tuitions or will only the truly rich be able to attend? And if many private schoolers shift to a public school system that’s simultaneously undergoing large cuts, what does that mean for class sizes and education quality? On the other hand, could the injection of some private school refugees be good news for some public schools? What do you think?
Long-term, my plan has always been to leave the city when my kids got to school age, meaning past kindergarten. I don’t really think I’m in the minority either. Hasn’t this been the natural middle/upper-middle class progression for decades in the city? Young people move in, parents with kids move out, retirees/empty-nesters move back.
Property taxes in most suburbs are an absolute bargain compared to sending two or three kids to private schools in the city, not to mention the other advantages to raising kids in a suburban or rural environment.
As much as I love the BK lifestyle and amenities, it’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make for my kids’ education and safety, to an extent.
I see lovely historic and affordable houses I like that are 1.5 to 2 hours from NYC, but we’d never do that. “Close commuting distance” for us means 45 minutes or less on an MTA North. We’d downsize back into an apartment or condo in order to stay in the city if financially we had to do, rather than move somewhere further than 30-45 minutes from NYC.
11217 – with all due respect, you are certainly not the only person saying positive things about Brooklyn! There are many Brooklyn cheerleaders on this list, and I count myself among them. I know some people think all I do is repeat my belief that home values will come down now, but if you read more, I actually do say other things – like what a great place this is to live. Otherwise, why would I want so much to buy a house here? So I do not disagree with the people who think Brooklyn, and brownstone Brooklyn in particular, is great. BUT, I do know many people who do not find its charms worth it when it is so incredibly expensive. Even if property values in prime Brooklyn went down by 50%, (and when I say this, the bulls still practically bite my head off), it would **still** be very expensive. Traditionalmod, I don’t know what kind of homes you’re looking at, but there are gorgeous, historic homes to be had for well under a million dollars in lots of communities within commuting distance of NYC. Not to mention other East Coast areas such as Boston which offers an incredible array of well-paying jobs and many of the benefits of NYC. I’m not saying anything is comparable exactly to living in NYC (again, I DO appreciate NYC’s unique charms), but it is just absurd to think everyone thinks the way you do. And it’s wrong to stereotype those who leave – they are a diverse group, just as New Yorkers are a diverse group. I really hope New Yorkers stick it out here, especially the ones who will pitch in and make our schools great, but some of them may just decide they’d rather live in NJ, Boston, Portland, whatever…
“Why am I the only person on this thread who seems to be speaking positively about Brooklyn?” — 11217
Maybe you’re spending too much time on this thread, which if you ask me offers a really distorted picture of Brooklyn and the concerns of its denizens. Leave the brownstoner comment post behind and step out into the real world, there are a lot of people who love brooklyn and aren’t leaving any time soon. I’m just one of them, but I also count many of the neighbors I know on our block, most of whom have never heard of Brownstoner.
“Your kid’s what?”
Typo. 🙁 Just supposed to read “sent my kid”.
Either too much or not enough caffeine today. Not sure which. My son decided he wanted me to get up at 5:00 instead of 6:30 this morning and I’m really missing those 90 minutes of sleep..
dittoburg – committed to 11211 (at least for now cause we own) – quick question – were you at 17 or 84? i do think that the schools will tip soon to a white majority. and, yes, i know you didn’t accuse me of being racist, i was responding to the world at large. if 17 doesn’t work for the long run then we’ll figure it out. the middle school moved in to the building and friends have kids there and like it.
i do think that with so many well educated people sending their kids to the schools, and fund raising, and donating money that the schools have a huge upside. the condo owners have added an entire new demographic and the effects of this on schools hasn’t totally happened yet. some of my neighbors have 2 kids under the age of 4, so they haven’t even entered the system yet.
in any case, 132 is really well regarded right now, but tough to get in to from out of zone.
Actually, there were a lot more than 10 years when white people left the city. Until very recently (like 2007), NYC lost net population to the rest of the country. More people left than moved here from elsewhere in the US. The population growth from the 1970s until now was entirely due to immigration.
nsrenter: “wouldn’t respect myself if I knowingly sent my kid’s to a school…”
Your kid’s what?
Of course families every year choose to leave NYC, but I don’t know what the suburbs really offer our particular demographic. It’s not cheaper to buy a comparable house in the near suburbs, for the typical reader of Brownstoner who would always otherwise prefer NYC for its lifestyle, and has certain standards for the town and house they’d live in. I have looked many times at real estate located close to NYC in NY state and CT, in the better towns with good amenities we would find acceptable. I never find any historic house (mcmansions not being an option) that’s the same size or larger and costs less than our current Brooklyn house, in any well located town with fast commute to NYC and good public schools. Schools being the only reason to go there. The towns and houses I actually would be willing to live in are very expensive and have insane property taxes. Also we’d have to come back. It wouldn’t be a permanent move. That’s the thing that would be a pain, having to buy our way back into NYC after leaving for 15-18 years. We’d definitely without question move back to NYC again after our child goes to college. Both for our own lifestyle when we’re older and because it gives our son a place to live Summers during college while doing internships, and immediately after college getting established. Which I personally think is a huge benefit. I would have killed for the opportunity to live and work in my chosen field in NYC every Summer in college. Who knows, never say never. But all things considered we’d hate to leave the city so we’d do whatever we could to figure it out and I think most families in brownstone Brooklyn are of that mindset.