Affordable Private School

The column “A Lifelong Schooling in the Cost of a Good Education” (Other Views, by Pasquale Gigliotti, Oct. 21) was interesting but misleading in regard to Catholic school tuition.

In the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, the average tuition for the 225 Catholic grammar schools is under $800 per year and the 31 Archdiocesan high schools charge an average tuition of under $1,500 per year.

I agree with the writer that private school tuition is indeed higher than most parents can afford. However, the Los Angeles Archdiocesan Catholic schools should not be lumped into the private school category, at least in relation to tuition. Because of their religious nature, they are subsidized by various sponsoring parishes and, in some cases, by the Archdiocese itself. This makes Archdiocesan Catholic schools more affordable to the average family than private schools.

MARGUERITE BYRNE,

Member

Archdiocesan Advisory

Board of Education

Los Angeles