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... the gap is much smaller for secular private schools vs. public schools. Secular private schools are around $27k. Do you have ideas on what might account for the differences in these private school costs? Are the religious schools finding external funding to make their tuition cheaper? Do they skimp on lab equipment or something?

I'd from waht I see locally, I'd wager it has more to do with size. The highly regarded private schools around here are all larger, comparable to the public schools. A larger student body means potential for more fficiency and cost savings. Just a theory, drawn from local knowledge of school costs and size as well as information from http://www.privateschoolreview.com. I have several family members who are public school teachers, and have a friend who is a private school teacher (Catholic, but not at Paul VI that I mentioned). I will ask around for additional insight on public vs private, costs, etc.. I do know a lot of public vs. private has to do with teacher compensation, benefits, tenure, etc. Private schools are run more like a business, and do well like that. Even as such, Catholic schools for certain take care of their faculty out of good will and will go above and beyond their minimum obligations if someone falls on hard times. Some "regular" employers do this too.

When you have to compete for a certain market and demographic, you have to be cost effective. Public schools do not have to be efficient or cost effective, they get funding regardless of performance and in many cases (such as that #2 violent crime city) the worse they do the more money they get, and the more taxes the rest of us must pay.

Stealing money from me, to pay for your kids (through government, who will assert force to redistribute that money) is wrong.

For any society to thrive, it must invest in its children, even at the expense of non-breeders. Despite your feelings of unfairness, it's unlikely that tax-supported schooling is ever going to go away. But it could definitely use improvement.

I would love for public schools to disappear. It would be a net gain for everyone, for our society as a whole. Parents pay for their own kids at whatever private school they choose. It would be cheaper, and with more competition prices would go down further. The smaller more expensive private schools could bring costs more inline with other private schools, or perhaps they just cater to a different market, with better teacher:student ratios or other attractions. Regardless, everyone should pay their own wayand not use force to take from others for their own personal gain. That is where the greatest gain to a society is, and it does not mean it's people will not invest in its children, some may invest less, some more, but the cost should be predominantly paid by parents.

I'd mod you Informative if I could, thanks for the reply. The numbers you quoted on the costs of public vs. private schools were stunning. $7k for a Catholic private school vs $20k for a public school is a huge gap. However, the gap is much smaller for secular private schools vs. public schools. Secular private schools are around $27k. Do you have ideas on what might account for the differences in these private school costs? Are the religious schools finding external funding to make their tuition cheaper? Do they skimp on lab equipment or something?

Stealing money from me, to pay for your kids (through government, who will assert force to redistribute that money) is wrong.

For any society to thrive, it must invest in its children, even at the expense of non-breeders. Despite your feelings of unfairness, it's unlikely that tax-supported schooling is ever going to go away. But it could definitely use improvement.

So, just to get this straight:

You used the figure of "new york city they get $17,000 per year per student" (2007-2008 figure according to http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2010-06-29-school-spending_N.htm) as a comparison against "Average tuition at a private school is $4,000".

But, looking around, it seems that New York city's costs have fluctuated from year to year: "New York City, the nation’s largest school district, reported spending $13,755 per pupil" (article from 2008). You also picked the highest-cost per pupil city (New York, a city which has high costs in a variety of ways) to compare against the "average" private school tuition. But, in fact, this isn't the "average" private school tuition, either. According to another article, "Average Private School Tuition: 2007-08, All Schools (i.e. Catholic, Other Religious, Non-Sectarian), K-12 Schools" = $10,045 per pupil (Source: http://www.capenet.org/facts.html)

Average? What color is the sky on your planet?

According to the probably-not-exactly-an-arm-of-teacher's-union-socialism "Council for American Private Education the lowest average private tuition was $4,944 for a Catholic elementary program(direct costs only, any cash or service subsidies from the church organization not included). All secondary and K-12 programs averaged higher.

No, it educates, and if your read up it does better then a lot of private schools

Really, not according to this: http://www.publicpurpose.com/pp-edpp.htm Additionally, the average private school tuition in the US was $7502 in 2009. In 2005, the U.S. spent on average over $11,000 per student in public schools. According to this source ( http://www.capenet.org/Outlook/Out9-03.html#Story5 ) in 2003, the average public school SAT score was 504 Verbal and 516 Math. The average religious private school SAT score was 535 Verbal and 530 Math. The average independent private school SAT was 550 Verbal and 573 Math.

Check your facts. The only private high school where I live is significantly more expensive than you claim it to be. Try $10,700/year. And that doesn't include books, uniforms, or anything other than tuition.

According to this source, about 19% of private schools in the US are religiously unaffiliated.

Aside from your claim about results, which has already been discussed, you should note that the reason private schools cost less on average is that most are subsidized by churches. Private schools without such support cost slightly more per student than public eduction.
http://www.capenet.org/facts.html
http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/education/010125.html