Austinites Shift From Public to Private Schools in Sign of Gentrification Effects
By Aarushi Dedhiya and Daniel Guo, JCamp 2024 — Austin
Austinites are increasingly gravitating toward private schools, a sign of how some of the city’s wealthy new arrivals are reshaping the local education system.
Roughly 15% of the Texas capital’s student population now attends private schools, compared with 11% in 2010, according to US Census Bureau data from 2022. It underscores the potential for a broader shift away from public schools in a state that has historically favored them. With just 6% of K-12 students attending private schools, Texas ranks near the bottom nationally — far below Hawaii, Louisiana and New York, according to data compiled by Private School Review.
Karren Sager, a 41-year-old working mother who was raised in Austin and has a daughter in the local school system, said she’s seen the number of public high schools dwindle as new charter and private schools pop up in their place.
“You’re on the most expensive street in Austin,” said Sager, while standing on South Congress Avenue. “I could probably throw a rock and we could hit a private school.”
Austin metro area households with incomes over $200,000 increased to 16% from 11% in a recent three-year span, according to census data from 2019 to 2022. Wealthier families with greater financial resources have begun moving their kids into private schools.
Sager said she’s worried about how this can negatively impact the sense of community in Austin’s neighborhoods. In 2022, her daughter dropped out of her public high school after previously being in a well-supported gifted program.
“When all the people who have the time and the money and the energy to help with the schools go somewhere else, the schools suffer,” Sager said.
Chris Alonzo, 22, graduated from Austin High School in 2020 and is a current student at Austin Community College. He recalled his positive high school experience, especially in addressing his personal needs associated with ADHD.
“There was a lot of support when it comes to students, like extra time on tests, extra time on assignments,” Alonzo said. “Sometimes they would have private tutors to have these more in-depth lessons.”
Formerly a high school student in Austin herself, Sager said her own experience in Austin until only a few years ago was community-oriented but has deteriorated quickly with the allure of private schools. Some parents with greater financial resources, who historically volunteered in the parent-teacher association as well as other clubs, are no longer involved after their children relocated to private schools, she said. That’s putting a greater burden on the public school staff.
“The less we have a community, the more education suffers — I think it’s that simple,” Sager said.
Less Funding
Despite a record budget surplus in Texas two years ago, the state’s funding per student remains the lowest nationally and has decreased over the past decade after adjusting for inflation, according to the Education Data Initiative. This is exacerbating the issues caused by the process of gentrification.
It’s prompting parents like Joseph Valley, 35, the father of a toddler in Austin, to ponder whether to send their children to private or public school.
“[I] would like to see her in public school,” Valley said as he sat at a bus stop next to his daughter. “There’s a good public school here in the neighborhood, Menchaca Elementary. But I also want her to have the best education possible.”
