Rick Santorum, The Great Blue Collar Republican Spent $100,000 to $150,000 to Send His Sons to Private School

No, That Information is Not in the New York Times Article

The New York Times has a nice feature story on The Heights, a private catholic school for grades 3 through 12.  It is boys only, no girls need apply.  The existence of the school is affirmation of the freedom of religion in the United States.  It’s existence is testimony to the fact that in this nation a person may worship as they please and educate their children as they please.  No one should find any fault with this school regardless of how much they may disagree with its teachings.

The Times article focuses on some its famous attendees, famous because the parent is currently running for President.

Although he has made being a home-schooling dad part of his identity, the Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum has sent two sons to The Heights.

and the article also goes into some detail about the school’s educational philosophy and teachings.  What it does not do is to report the price of sending one’s child son.  Now knowing that Presidential candidate Rick Santorum presents himself as representing blue collar workers, a real man of the people and a person whose qualifications for President include the fact that his grandfather was a coal miner, one would suppose that the tuition at the school was very low.  Otherwise how could such a working class person like Mr. Santorum afford the costs of sending not just one but two boys to the school.

So The Dismal Political Economist will do what the Times journalist should have done, and report the cost of attending this school.  Here it is

Tuition and Fees, 2011-12Upper School: $21,000
Middle School: $19,325
Lower School: $15,775

So assuming Mr. Santorum sent each son to the school for at least a couple of years we are talking about over $100,000 in tuition.  Isn’t it great to see a blue collar worker like Mr. Santorum be able to afford that!

 And aren’t we all proud to know that if the Republican plan to allow vouchers of, say $5,000 to $10,000 each for students to attend private schools like The Heights (leaving poor families with the need to only come up with the other $10-15,000 of tuition a year for each child)  will not only mean using taxpayer money to support religious education that most taxpayers disagree with,

The only birth control taught is abstinence. The school has daily Mass (optional for older students). The list of suggested pleasure reading is heavy on Christian authors: Augustine, Dante, C. S. Lewis, Evelyn Waugh.

 it will also mean thousands of lower income students could then attend The Heights.

Yeah right, sure they could.