William "Chops" Westfield wrote:
> [...] if all the people who complained that private schools were
> too expensive for them were willing to donate, say, 50% of what they
> actually COULD afford to their public school, the public schools
> could be a lot better.

Free Rider problem. And I don't think pouring more money in a system that's 
inefficient is a good idea anyway.

> some of the red-tape associated with public money...)  (at least
> here, the most common complaint about the schools is that they are
> obviously under-funded; large classes, old books in bad condition,
> lack of supplies, etc.  Other areas may have other problems.)

Do you know how much money the schools in your area get per child, per year? 
I imagine the cost of books is a small fraction of that money, which means 
the schools have misplaced priorities.

Vitaliy 

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