3 hours ago, Hugefootballguy said:

If private schools didn’t have advantages over public schools why pay for your kid to go there? 

Religious reasons in most cases. People want a Christian education for their children.

25 minutes ago, Voice of Reason said:

Religious reasons in most cases. People want a Christian education for their children.

That would be an advantage. 

3 hours ago, rjal said:

I would say first, a perceived advantage in sports is not why most people send their kids to private schools.  In NKY, most "private" schools are actually parochial schools that parents send their kids to for a faith-based education.  There are certainly parents who do so for sports, just like they go to different public schools for sports, but sports are not why there are so many catholic schools in NKY.  

 

I would argue that sometimes in sports there is a disadvantage.  Parents pay for every facility or piece of equipment directly in tuition or sports fees or through fundraisers. My kids have a grass soccer field that isn't in the best shape and no home football field because our school doesn't have millions of dollars for a turf field.  My tax dollars, however, built beautiful facilities for the Kenton County schools.  I chose to send my kids where I did so no sour grapes, just facts.   

I would say the schools with an advantage whether public or private are those with involved parents and or a tradition of success.  Success breeds success 

The advantage is being able to choose that your kid gets that kind of education and environment. 
 

Tax dollars don’t automatically go directly into the football budget for schools. Public schools have to get donations for any extras. Food before games, travel to games, equipment, and are just a few things that cost money and are funded by donations, boosters and parents. Some public schools are poorly funded and a deep playoff run can be a burden financially. 
 

Private schools overall environment is a better than public schools. The kids that play private don’t typically have to deal with things public school kids have to deal with in and out of school. 
 

A young person being able to attend a private school is a huge advantage for more than just sports. The atmosphere of a private school education is better. Which in turn, can cause their athletic programs to flourish. 

I think the advantage is not so much a public vs. private question but a question of  “how many other school districts can you draw players from?”  When a school has one, three, ten or twenty other schools in their county to draw from, they have a natural advantage, no matter if they are public or private. All of the traditional powerhouse programs have at least one or more other school districts in their county from which they can draw a few players who can strengthen their team without adding enough enrollment to increase their classification. The key is to be the best program in those higher population areas. Not all private schools excel at sports. Some of the best programs are public schools. 
 

Just for an example, look at Boyle County. They were rarely mentioned statewide until the late 90s. Danville dominated football in the county. For a while both teams flourished, now it’s all Boyle County. It is almost impossible to keep the cupboard full of talent unless you have a lot of population to draw from. The school has to put forth an effort to improve their facilities, feeder program, coaching etc. so that the home grown athletes will want to stay there to play football and also some kids across town might want to come there, too. Boyle County has put in the work and made itself into a powerhouse in just about 25 years. 
 

The real disadvantage is with the schools that are the only one in their county. By and large, they have to play with the kids that are there. The talent pool is up and down and it is very hard to get players from some other school just because of distance if nothing else. My alma mater, Franklin-Simpson is one of those schools. We have 4 state titles. We have been state runner-up 6 times, 3 of which were losses to Highlands. FS is probably the most successful school in state history that never had another school in the county from which to attract more players. We had 2 or 3 great classes of players in 1979-80 and 2017-18 that went back-to-back. Most of the time FS struggles to get to the third round, which hasn’t happened since 2019. Frankly, we were fortunate that all the 4A powers today were in other classes in 2017-18. Johnson Central couldn’t get over the hump in 4A either until Covington Catholic and Highlands moved up to 5A a few years ago. FS has lost a few players to South Warren in the last few years as well. 
 

There will occasionally be champions like Bullitt East and Scott County were in 6A in the last decade-plus, but they were exceptions to the rule. Last year in the 3A playoffs, there were some great battles between the likes of Union County, Franklin-Simpson, Hart County, Bell County and Belfry, but everyone knew they were fighting for second place behind CAL. It’s hard for a county school to overcome a piece of the Louisville talent pool. 

For non coed private schools they don’t have to worry about Title IX. That makes a difference how much money and where you can spend that money. 

20 hours ago, Voice of Reason said:

What advantage do private schools have over public schools?

 

20 hours ago, theguru said:

Public schools are the ones that have the advantage, they are free. 

Exactly. 

This is the same old argument. 

16 hours ago, Hugefootballguy said:

If private schools didn’t have advantages over public schools why pay for your kid to go there? 

Because a large portion of society is obsessed with perception. 

12 hours ago, Hugefootballguy said:

The advantage is being able to choose that your kid gets that kind of education and environment. 
 

Tax dollars don’t automatically go directly into the football budget for schools. Public schools have to get donations for any extras. Food before games, travel to games, equipment, and are just a few things that cost money and are funded by donations, boosters and parents. Some public schools are poorly funded and a deep playoff run can be a burden financially. 
 

Private schools overall environment is a better than public schools. The kids that play private don’t typically have to deal with things public school kids have to deal with in and out of school. 
 

A young person being able to attend a private school is a huge advantage for more than just sports. The atmosphere of a private school education is better. Which in turn, can cause their athletic programs to flourish. 

There are a lot of generalizations in this... 

6 hours ago, barrel said:

For non coed private schools they don’t have to worry about Title IX. That makes a difference how much money and where you can spend that money. 

I hear what you are saying but all the public schools are getting a ton free money and some of those piles and piles of cash have to go to the women.  In the case of non-coed private schools, they can spend all the money they don't have or don't receive on anything they want.  What an advantage, lol!

This is my first post that isn’t about districting, but I’ve had these thoughts for years and can’t resist sharing them.

In my opinion, the advantages a football program has comes down to three main factors, and none of them are whether a school is public or private.

    1.    Administrative Support: The level of support from the administration is a huge factor. For example, I know of a school that ensures every football coach has a free period at the end of the day, and all the football players have lifting/PE during that time. This means practice starts during the last period, and players are finished within an hour after school. Coaches can be home by 4:30 every day, making it an attractive environment where they can coach and still spend time with family. Why would a coach want to leave that? It takes a school district fully committed to the program to make this happen. While I’m not suggesting it’s what is best for educating our future minds, if you want to build a strong football program and attract good coaches, this is the way to do it. Additionally, placing your head coach in a less demanding teaching role, one that allows them to focus on coaching while still contributing as a teacher, can be a win-win. This early practice also benefits players who have jobs or other commitments after school, allowing them to balance football and other responsibilities.

    2.    Community Support: When I played, my school didn’t have much community backing, but today things are different. Now, when the program needs something, it gets it—and not just the essentials, but the extras too. New jerseys, helmets, and a crowd full of fans tailgating before games create an incredible atmosphere. This boosts team morale and gives players a sense of being part of something special in their community. When players see that support, it provides an extra layer of motivation. It can be depressing playing in front of nobody. I feel so bad for those programs where nobody comes and watch the team plays. And to add, if coaches don’t have to worry about fundraising for basic equipment, they can focus more on coaching.

    3.    Player Pool: One of the greatest advantages is having a smaller school near a larger one. This isn’t always the case, but many small city schools benefit from open enrollment, where they might pull just one or two good athletes from nearby larger schools. Even if those players aren’t stars, they can still make a big impact. Essentially, you have 6A-level player pool playing in a 2A or 3A school. We all could probably give examples of a school drawing players from surrounding areas essentially giving them the talent pool of a much larger school, even if they’re technically smaller on paper.

When these three factors—administration, community, and player pool—line up, you have the makings of a dominant football program. Of course, these are just advantages and don’t guarantee victory on Friday nights. Hard work, good coaching, and solid execution can level the playing field.

Love it @common_sense_eagle!

16 hours ago, theguru said:

I hear what you are saying but all the public schools are getting a ton free money and some of those piles and piles of cash have to go to the women.  In the case of non-coed private schools, they can spend all the money they don't have or don't receive on anything they want.  What an advantage, lol!

That isn’t exactly how school finance works. Schools of course do receive money from the state but it isn’t like a school can spend the money however they want. Portions of those funds must be spent in certain areas and cannot be spent in other areas. Title IX comes into play more with fundraising done by the different programs. There is of course a large amount of money wasted in public schools in central office type positions. That is a different topic. 
 

Since this is a football forum that would be the area of comparison. I doubt any sport is as expensive as football across the board. Two people every HS head coach should make friends with. The basketball coach because they know how to follow the rules right up to the edge and the band director because they know red book better than anyone else. 

On 10/16/2024 at 8:30 PM, Hugefootballguy said:

The advantage is being able to choose that your kid gets that kind of education and environment. 
 

Tax dollars don’t automatically go directly into the football budget for schools. Public schools have to get donations for any extras. Food before games, travel to games, equipment, and are just a few things that cost money and are funded by donations, boosters and parents. Some public schools are poorly funded and a deep playoff run can be a burden financially. 
 

Private schools overall environment is a better than public schools. The kids that play private don’t typically have to deal with things public school kids have to deal with in and out of school. 
 

A young person being able to attend a private school is a huge advantage for more than just sports. The atmosphere of a private school education is better. Which in turn, can cause their athletic programs to flourish. 

Never heard of a public school that has to pay for equipment, bus travel, or anything else related to a school activity?

On 10/16/2024 at 8:30 PM, Hugefootballguy said:

The advantage is being able to choose that your kid gets that kind of education and environment. 
 

Tax dollars don’t automatically go directly into the football budget for schools. Public schools have to get donations for any extras. Food before games, travel to games, equipment, and are just a few things that cost money and are funded by donations, boosters and parents. Some public schools are poorly funded and a deep playoff run can be a burden financially. 
 

Private schools overall environment is a better than public schools. The kids that play private don’t typically have to deal with things public school kids have to deal with in and out of school. 
 

A young person being able to attend a private school is a huge advantage for more than just sports. The atmosphere of a private school education is better. Which in turn, can cause their athletic programs to flourish. 

Totally agree.

7 hours ago, nikeman49 said:

Never heard of a public school that has to pay for equipment, bus travel, or anything else related to a school activity?

Absolutely. In my experience of public school funding, you get the bare minimum of allocated funding and everything else you have to fundraise and hope for donations.