Lynchburg Living

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By By Susan S. Davidson, CPA

When is the best time to start planning for your child’s future education? According to economist Bob Brinker, it is “the day you learn you’re going to be a parent.” Parents must consider whether they prefer public, private or home education for their children. With so many outstanding public and private schools in the area, choosing the right school can be a daunting task for parents living in Central Virginia.

If money is a concern, don’t “close the book” on private education just yet. “The sheer force of persistence and determined budgeting” has put private school within reach for many parents according to Mary Dalrymple of The Motley Fool. “Thousands of parents do it,” she adds, “and they’re not all millionaires or trust-fund heirs.” The key is to do your homework–determine which private schools in your area offer financial aid, discounts or scholarships, then start saving toward your child’s education today.

Private Education Costs in Lynchburg

During the past decade, enrollment in private schools in Central Virginia has increased dramatically. Liberty Christian Academy, for example, has experienced an increase in enrollment of 105 percent since moving to its new location on Candler’s Mountain in August 2004.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the average annual private school tuition in the United States is $8,549. The average cost of private school tuition in Lynchburg is approximately $6,500, significantly lower than the national average. The chart below shows the approximate enrollment and compares tuition rates at five of Central Virginia’s private schools. All of the schools listed in this chart have received accreditation through the Virginia Council for Private Education (VCPE). The accreditation “guarantees the transfer of student credits from the state recognized accredited private school to a public school.”

Tuition Rates* for Local Private Schools

¹ Tuition discount available to members of affiliated church

² Price applies to Kindergarten through 4^th grade

³ Price applies to 5^th through 8^th grades

^* Tuition rates listed may or may not include book fees. Check each school’s Web site for complete information.

Financial Aid, Discounts and Scholarships

In an effort to make private education a viable option for interested families, many schools offer financial aid programs to help defray the costs of tuition for parents with limited financial resources. In fact, every local private school that I contacted (see chart) offered a financial assistance program. I was able to easily locate applications for financial assistance on the Web sites of each of these schools.

Several private schools in Lynchburg and the surrounding counties are affiliated with a place of worship. Many of these schools offer discounts to families who are members of the affiliated church. Holy Cross, Liberty Christian Academy and Timberlake Christian School are just three of the local private schools offering such discounts. There are also discounts available to families enrolling two or more children. Holy Cross, for instance, offers a tuition break for families with more than three children enrolled in their school. Only the three oldest students are charged tuition–the rest are allowed to attend tuition-free. Each school has a different policy regarding multi-student discounts. Visit the school’s Web site for more information.

Two local private schools have partnered with Liberty University to offer college scholarships to students who attend their school from the 9^th through the 12^th grades. Liberty Christian Academy graduates receive a full scholarship to Liberty University if the students attend all four years of high school at LCA and meet certain academic requirements. Graduates of Timberlake Christian School who have completed 9^th through 12^th grades at TCS receive a discount of 75 percent off their tuition at LU.

Coverdell Education Savings Accounts

If you have decided that private education is the best fit for your child, there is no time like the present to begin saving. Consider depositing funds into a Coverdell Education Savings Account (ESA). Unlike most education savings plans which can only be used to offset the costs of higher education, Coverdell ESAs can also be used to offset the expenses of “qualified elementary and secondary education expenses.” While contributions to an ESA are not tax-deductible, earnings on the account are tax-free and distributions are not taxable to the beneficiary as long as they are used to pay for qualified education expenses. The maximum contribution to a Coverdell ESA is $2,000 per year per child. Beneficiaries of Coverdell ESAs must be either under the age of 18 or have special needs.

Without a doubt, the decision of where a child will be educated is one of the most important and challenging parenting decisions that a young couple will have to face. Figuring out how to save for private school while simultaneously saving for college can leave parents feeling overwhelmed. If you determine that private education is the best choice for your child, but you are unsure of how you will make it work from a financial standpoint, remember this: If it is important to you, you can make it work.