We'll be rich! RICH!

Scott and I just got back from our tour of the local public elementary school, which Henry will be attending next year. You've probably heard me bitch about this before, but Henry just missed the cut-off date for kindergarten, which in New Jersey is October 1st. Henry's birthday is the 7th of October. Could they let us in anyway? They could not. Damn their rules!

I agree with the millions upon trillions of people who love telling us how this was for the best, but what they fail to take into consideration is that preschool is not free; nay, each month many many dollars are torn from our hands as we weep and fall onto the ground, rending our garments.

But next year! Oh, next year, my friends, it's public-school time for our boy. Thus, the tour. We asked questions and pretended to care about the answers, but really, as long as the school isn't in flames we'll send him there. Ha ha! Ideally it should be more than just not on fire. We have standards! Fortunately for everyone the school was both not on fire and also pretty great. The principal walked us around for over an hour, answering our questions, which went like this:

"So it's free, you say?"
"Really? Free?"
"How much is tuition? Come on, seriously."
"Don't bring me down with your 'local taxes' talk. What will we do with all that extra money?"
"Can you provide us with recipes for meals that aren't beans? Now that we're all rich?"
"I mean, not that I don't like beans. But enough already, am I right?"
"Can you tell us more about the free part?"

Beyond its freeness, there are many other attributes to the school. I think Henry will enjoy himself there. And we will enjoy him being there, as we wallow in our newfound riches.

There's a new Wonderland post up today. And now: lunch! So long, suckers!

Comments

[Matt]

There are a lot of people who would be completely astounded to here what you pay in shool property taxes. I have lived in the NE and remember the pain. BUT - you get what you pay for, right? But paying for the preschool on top of the taxes was surely NOT FUN! Congrats.

[Sus]

We're just starting preschool next fall - for our OLDEST. MAybe you could just send us your son's tuition for the next 3 years?

[margie]

I'm berating myself as I write this because I don't want to rain on any parades or anything... I remember the dinner out we had following our last preschool tuition payment... Mmmmmm! And yes, the notion of saving oodles of dollars was one we cherished. However, it wasn't even 2 yrs. into public school that the teachers began pointing out that our child was somehow 'defective' ie. ADHD (less hyperactivity, meaning he was usually off in another world of motors, lights and electricity when a teacher called on him.) When indeed what they had on there hands was an exceedingly bright child who was bored to tears at having to sit behind a desk all day. When 4th grade rolled around all sorts of miserable events unfolded which resulted in taking our son out of public school and putting him into a private 'democratic' school. He's nearly 18 now and a happy, well adjusted, inquisitive individual. We pay $6,000 a year for tuition (and another $6,000 for his sister) so it's a good thing we like beans.

[Brooke]

I am so there with you! My daughter's preschool tuition was about $800 a month. She was 4 for two weeks of Kindergarten, but we said we'd try it and if it didn't work out, we'd delay her a year. We did still have fees for K enrichment and 7 AM to 6 PM childcare (on-site! OMG!) but we were so blissed out about the expense reduction.

[Kim]

Oh, I can't wait for that day!! Both our boys are in a Montessori program here in CA - one kindy, one pre-school and we pay -you may want to sit down for this - $24,500 a year for this privilege! I am in nursing school so they need full time programs until next year. Then we can move them both to the public school. I can't wait - no more tuition and I'll have a paycheck again!!

[Jen]

Hi Alice, I'm a long time lurker but have never commented. I live one State over in PA. My husband works for the city of Philadelphia so we have to live "in the city". However our public schools here are so bad that in addition to pay our taxes we have to pay tuition to send out kids to catholic school. Oh and I have two kids and will be paying over $7000 a year for grade school tuition. We eat a lot of Ramen noodles at our house.

[Catizhere]

I am sooooo looking forward to September when Maggie will start Kindergarten. I pay daycare almost $500 a month for her. Daycare costs will be CUT IN HALF!! Of course, I'll lose my 10% multi-child discount for Will, but oh well. I'll be so flush with moolah I won't even notice that.

[Slim]

Just you hush now, margie.

Our public school is a zingy melange of warmth, nurturance, and intellectual challenge, all tied up in a big bow of stressing social skills and emotional intelligence.

Alas, they do not have ponies, which is probably what it would take to get my second child enthusiastic about going there. But then it wouldn't be free. Which it is. Have you noticed that? Is your school free, too? In a tuition-less kind of way?

[SherE1]

Beans - the great alternative to Top Ramen noodles! And don't forget Mac and Cheese. The staples in our house.

[Mrs. Who]

Now that it's all over and you are RICH, you can feel truly good about the fact that your son missed the cut-off for kindergarten and will be almost a year older than most of the other students. As a teacher, I can tell you that those students are really at an advantage - and it's an advantage that will stay with him all through school. Now, go have a steak.

[jules]

My birthday is on 10/8, and when I was your son's age my mom fought the same battles. Somehow she was able to knock enough heads together to get them to allow me in school, even though I was younger than everyone else.

The worst part of that whole thing for ME was being a 17 year old college freshman and needing my parent's SIGNATURE to get the after-hours building key for my dorm. Of course my parents wanted assurance that I would be in my room before the doors were locked at 11, and that the key was just in case there was some kind of act of God that would keep me out past dark.

You can see why I was anxious to get away to college! Enjoy your new riches!

Jules
House of Jules

[Not saying]

I teach part-time in a public school in a well-to-do New England suburb. What the job lacks in salary it provides in "insider information".

I'll sell my left kidney (if necessary) to keep my offspring in private school. $15K a year and completely worth it!!

[Karen]

yes, it really is a jackpot - we just discovered that the town we will be moving to (in 18 months) will have all day Kindergarten! And our Henry will start Kindergarten the September we move there - all day! all day for free!

[Nicole]

I am very jealous but also stupid. My son will miss this fall's cutoff by 10 days (though he would be in if we lived in NJ!), necessitating another year in Montessori. On top of that, we thought this would be a great year to have another baby, meaning that we will be paying not only Montessori fees but also part-time infant daycare! Yippee!

Congrats on what will soon be a great windfall for you. I'll try not to be bitter.

[Anne Prince]

I have to say that I had only positive experiences at that school. Yeah, there were one or two minor things that I complained about but nothing that bothered my kids. All in all a great neighborhood school.

I will miss it when Morgan graduates in June I've been associated with the school since 1993 (Yikes!)

Now it is your turn to volunteer to be the home and school president (BWHAHAHAHAHA!!!!)

[Jenn @ Juggling Life]

Oh you are hysterically delusional. You will not have any more money--you will just be spending it on braces and sports.

[kym b]

You should be in Nebraska, Oct 15th cut off here. You could be rich right now.

We have been paying for preschool for 4 years and have 2 to go (3 kids, in case that wasn't clear). Lots of fun.

[beth]

The part I am really looking forward to is the bus. The big beautiful bus that will come and take my kids away as I stand in my pajamas with coffee in hand.

[Kirsetin]

Ahhh, no more "late notices" in the pre-school backpack. I remember the same feeling when we were completely finished with diapers - it was like a magical raise. But I have to agree with Anne: save it for the braces. They are amazingly expensive and for some reason, every single child now needs perfectly straight teeth. If you don't believe it, just ask your dentist. In the meantime, enjoy that steak!

[RubiaLala]

I'm so jealous! I wish our boy was going to free kindergarten but alas we live in a rotten area and the only way he'd go to public school is over my dead body. Congratulations on all the cash!

[amber]

Elizabeth got stuck the same way. In Georgia, it's if you're not 5 before September 1, you can't get in, and her birthday's in October. But, having so far survived her first half-year in Kindergarten, her class is full of kids that got stuck the same way.

[pickel]

Gosh, it almost makes me feel lucky that my son goes to special needs preschool and its free.

Guess I should start saving now for the second one.

[Paula]

Public school is free? We have to pay school dues for the public school that my daughter attends. It's only $27 for the year, but what happened to public school being FREE????

[Paula]

Public school is free? We have to pay school dues for the public school that my daughter attends. It's only $27 for the year, but what happened to public school being FREE????

[Paula]

Public school is free? We have to pay school dues for the public school that my daughter attends. It's only $27 for the year, but what happened to public school being FREE????

[Tammy]

Here, preschool is heavily subsidized, but childcare is not. We're still waiting to find out if our three-year-old will get off the waitlist and into the local preschool program for fall. If he does, I'll be doing the happy dance right there beside you at the prospect of saving over $800 a month. We'll be able to eat meat again... the good stuff!

[MelissaS]

I think "Get your kid out of private preschool" is step one in The Wealthy Barber.

[Kay Green, Child Safety Mom]

Here they have to be 5 by September 1st

[Big Momma Pimpalishisness]

Yeah but the bigger they get, the more expensive the clothes get. Plus they eat more. Did you know it's possible for a six year old boy to eat 12 small pancakes in one sitting? Now if only we could get the local taxes to feed and clothe them, we'd all really be rich!

[Chris]

I TOTALLY understand the pain of this "free gift" we give our child. Our kids' school has a cut off of June 1st and our youngest's birthday is June 7th. So the gift of an extra year for her is $18,000 and she turns 7 (SEVEN) before kindergarten is over. I had better see that $18,000 returned many times over sometime in the future. heh.

Chris

[Lisa C.]

I feel you. Luckily we don't have to do the extra year of school, because my son was born 3 months prior to the K cutoff. I have 5 (F-I-V-E) more $810 payments left. 5. 5 payments.

I was at a birthday party the other day with a bunch of other parents from DS's pre-K and one of the moms with and older child said, "You know, when all is said and done, you don't see the extra money." And I turned to her in horror and said, "Woman, shut yo' mouth!" She was taking after school care and school lunches into account, though... I work nights, so no after care, and DS will take his lunch because I am not paying more for food that he won't eat.

5 more payments!

[Tootsie Farklepants]

I hear ya! Our daughter (and youngest child) is finally going to kindergarten in the fall. Honestly? She was ready like 2 years ago. She's 4 1/2 going on 12 that one. And oh to be free from preschool tuition! We may actually get to take a decent vacation next year.

Our youngest son missed the cut off by 2 weeks also. So, yeah.

[Kate]

I thought we would be rich too when our oldest went from preschool ($1000/month) to public school...alas...not so much. I guess I've found other ways to spend that $$ :-)

[noholzbarred]

The extra money spent on preschool sucks, it's true, but speaking as a teacher, the wait will very likely be good for him--but only because he's a boy. This is obviously a generalization, and I'm sure Henry is a genius when it comes to words if he's anything like you, but in general most boys benefit from being a year older than the girls in their class when it comes to learning to read. A lot of boys get misdiagnosed with learning disabilities early on simply because they are on a different time frame developmentally, and this is how a lot of them end up being frustrated and turned-off from school later on.

[Theresa B.]

Me = laughing out loud and in the exact same boat as you. My son's born on the sixth, one year later. And preschool subsidized? Hah! I would trade little cartons of milk for a government handout anyday. Float on Finslippy, Float on.

[JennB]

This will be me in five years, give or take a little... I'm planning on a couple of really lean years in which I have to get very creative with bread and butter for dinner. Invisible grilled cheese sandwiches! No more vacations... oy. But, in three more years we won't have a car payment, and in 2-1/2 more years we'll only have one kid in daycare. It will be here before we know it - right?

www.opaqueprintproduction.com/jbblog

[Manic Mommy]

Our town is the last in the area with a 12/31 cut off. HRH's birthday is 11/18 but we opted to go the extra year of preschool.

But then we were even dumber because we've just signed him up for Catholic school (which is still far cheaper than preschool).

Mmmm...beans.

[Robin]

Ha, it is to laugh.

How about an elderly parent in assisted living at 4k a month, who is running out of money?! THAT is expensive.

[cynthia]

Gosh, and here I thought we were lucky: because my sainted mother-in-law works at my son's daycare/preschool, we get the "employee discount" (he's been there since he was 1), and even with that, we pay about $800/month. Welcome to the San Francisco Bay Area. I won't even talk about our rent. We don't eat a lot of beans, but now that my husband just got laid off, I'm thinking maybe we should. My son was born mid-September, so I'm thinking we're already hosed...

[Aimee Greeblemonkey]

See, we were on the other end, Declan's birthday is 9-13, our cutoff is also Oct 1st. So we spent months agonizing over whether he was ready, being pissed that he came 8 weeks early (as a 32 week preemie - if he had just waited till he was supposed to be born, I wouldn't have had to THINK about anything!)... and the kicker? Our Kingergarten is tuition based. So they had us coming and going. The bastards.

[College Mama]

Enjoy it now because college tuition payments await you just around the corner...

[Dory]

Ah, yes; I remember those days not so fondly. For three summers, we paid more in daycare than our mortgage payment. ACK!

Now they are 11 and 8 and depending on our schedules, we may still get off scotfree if we have opposite shifts.

[Jemima]

Ah, how I look forward to the day that I too can have children and ruin my life. Right now, we just spend all our money having rubber ducks and toothbrushes and bouillon cubes (expensively) removed from the damned dog. Give us a year though. We'll ruin our lives but good. Diapers, wee baby clothes, school, wrecked cars and parent-teacher conferences, ooh, I can't wait!

[Honey B Fly]

I know I'm late weighing in here, but I thought you would find this amusing. In Texas, the cutoff is September 1st to be 6 yrs old and enter the first grade. Since I was born in the stone age and had a typewritten birth certificate and my mother was a nurse, they simply changed the birth certificate for the school records. I was born on Sept. 2. Since she didn't think it was fair that I miss out on 1 year of schooling because of 1 day, she changed it. Then everyone in my family celebrated every birthday I had throughout high school on the 1st. I never knew any different until I was 16 and needed to get an ID to work. When I went to the state office to get a copy of the birth certificate, I saw it and told the clerk they made a mistake, I was born on the 1st, not the 2nd. She told me about a procedure to get it corrected. I went home and told my mom that we'd have to fix it. She looked all sheepish and had to admit to the ruse. They didn't tell me the real date as a kid because she said that most little kids will tell the truth when asked unless they are in trouble and she didn't want me to 'confess' to my real birthdate while I was in school. How crazy is that?

[Teacher Mommy]

If it helps at all, the cut off for Kindergarten here is September 1st- meaning you wouldn't have even been close~ sort of making you feel better.

I am a teacher and have to say that lately the private schools are getting lots and lots of children who aren't "understood" (read:catered to) in the public schools. Good Riddance to them! Public schools are only as good as the teachers and the parents.