Private-school tuition was always pricey in New York. Now, though, it is set to top the $40,000 level.

Within one to two years, every independent school will cost more than $40,000, said a board member at a top private school. In a time when public schools are getting their budgets and curricula slashed, New York private schools are moving in the opposite direction.

Class offerings are expanding, new theaters, gyms and pools are getting built, and tuition is getting a lot more expensive--48 percent more for first grade over the past 10 years, adjusted for inflation.

These numbers are way ahead of private schools in the rest of the US. The reason they are what they are in New York, analysts say, is because people will pay them. Legions. The median number of applications to private schools has increased by 32% over the past 10 years.

About 20 percent of private school students receive financial aid, which has remained static. One's got to pay to play for education in New York, because so many other people can and will.

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