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Private Public Schools
The Thomas B. Fordham Institute reports that there are 2,817 “private public” schools in the US - publicly-funded schools that serve hardly any low-income children. These private public schools are located in “wealthy urban enclaves or well-heeled suburbs”. And although their doors are effectively closed to poor children (because poor families can’t afford to buy a house in the schools’ catchment areas), these schools are fully funded by taxpayers.
While there are far fewer of such schools in Canada than in the US, there is no doubt that they exist here as well. So the next time you hear someone grumble about “exclusive” and “élite” private schools like Upper Canada College, you might point out that Canada’s private public schools are actually more selective than its private private schools, since most, if not all, of the truly private schools offer scholarship to dozens of low-income students. Why would anyone support public funding for private public schools - but not for private private schools?