"Public Education"

I have been away much, but I have been busy. We are almost done unpacking and organizing (there is an end in sight!), and I have been fervently looking for a job each morning, as well as working the part-time one on the weekends and evenings.
On the job seeking aspect (and I'm sorry if this blog has become dreary- I hope my outlook will improve soon and will endeavor to turn my frown upside down)- not much doing. I may have the beat on a Latin job relatively close by for this year, as opposed to waiting until September to be employed. On the employment note, I will have to say that my views on certain issues have changed about due to my little family's financial situation (which is not dire, just new for me). We are now a single income household, making below what is really "needed" to live in the area. I provide only minimal income at the moment (and feel, as I may have already said, like useless baggage that only consumes. I am used to being employed. I guess one of the "new" views I have is that I am defining myself lately by my economic vitality- and since I have little to none of that, I have little or no worth to myself), and we have a rent that is more than we paid before, but still have a mortgage on a house that has been on the market only over a month (which the agents say is normal for the area and the time of year).
In light of this, the world looks a little different. Yeah, I shop only for food (we did buy some clothes recently, mainly for my husband since he needed them as Army uniforms don't work in corporate, and a few shirts for me to wear to interviews) and more carefully (if it isn't on sale or I don't have a coupon, it isn't in the cart. I am only allowed 3 items that are not on sale, and none can be above 5$, with only one preferably being close to 5$. I mostly buy cheese or olives, which are a pleasure in life. I also am now a Charles Shaw fan, since Trader Joe's is about 1 mile away). I, however, enjoy the frugal experience- it makes sense even in good times. I also don't miss clothes shopping or shopping for the house- I think I really just used to do it because I was bored. Mindless consumption is something I would like to purge from my existence (and yes, even on the book buying front- the library is a blessing that our government helps to fund). Also, I drive a lot less (not working helps this!) and tend to go out only when I have multiple places near each other. Gas is astronomically expensive! When the weather gets nice, I will walk to the stores more. As a suburban/rural inhabitant for most of my life, that is, again, an actually nice thing. So, some good, simple lessons learned and, moreover, appreciated.
One thing I have thought about is how would we ever be able to afford to educate anyone in our family, with this type of situation? I mean, mainly, post secondary (undergraduate or graduate level) education. Imagine this- we are still in the situation we are in and have a child who is a senior in high school. The kid is a good student, but only nabs a few academic scholarships worth maybe 1000$ a year. Where do you get the money to send them? I live in Virginia. So, let's look at public universities (since I am not even going to consider the private ones!) and assume that I do not want to take out lots of loans that either I will have to pay (assume I am still probably paying a mortgage) and that I refuse to burden my child with debt close to $100,000 when they graduate and look for their first job (unless they really want it! But still, it was not something I was raised to give my children):

Virginia State University, Petersburg, VA
Tuition (all in-state costs): $3, 186 - not too bad
Fees: $2,210- what? What are these "fees"? Shouldn't any "fees" be part of the tuition? Hmm..
Debt Service Fee: $259- I don't even know that this is!
Room: $4,249
Board: $3,091
Total: $12,995
Four years (assuming no increase, which is insane): $51,980- $4,000 (scholarship)= $47, 980

UVA, Charlottesville, VA
Tuition and Fees (they include them together!): $8, 690
Room and Board: $7, 435
Total: $16, 125
Four years (no increase): $64, 500- $4,000= $60, 500

George Mason University- which is near to where we live, so we will do this with Room and Board and without Room and Board: (sidenote- they do NOT have a site with all costs- you have to go to each department- Housing, Dining, and Financial to get costs):
Tuition: $3, 420 (some fees are added, some classes have a higher cost)
Room: ranges from $3, 410-$7, 410 per academic year (more for 12 months)
Board: $3,200 (average from dining plans)
Total with Room and Board: $10, 620 (I used $4,000 for Room)
Four years with Room and Board: $42,480- $4,000= $38, 480
Four years with no Room and Board (live at home, without home expense taken into consideration, however): $13, 680- $4,000= $9, 680

Hmmm...Looks like my kid is going to GMU and living at home. Not the best of worlds (I want my child to have the "college" years- they do force you to grow up a lot and are some of your best years).

So, the reason that I titled this blog "Public Education" is that "public" universities are not really that public- I have been searching for how much of the VA budget goes to higher ed (I haven't the time right now- lunch break is almost over! There is tons of info on budget reform, but no nice percentage I can throw up on this site from the state website. I will update if I can find it!), and then wonder how much really can go into it, with all else the government needs to fund (or pay themselves). So, maybe these schools *do* cost less overall (My school, an Ivy, would probably be over $200,000 for four years now- that $4,000 scholarship isn't going to help too much!), but now I understand more where a family making under $100, 000 per year would feel the crunch- especially when you may not be able to save very much or enough for more than one child. So, what is public about these schools? Do they serve the majority of the public or not? I need to think and research more.
I guess I am also very skeptical about public higher education coming from NJ, and having attended a public university there. There were/are too often professors or deans or politicians who held multiple, tax-paid positions in the government and the university, some of which were "nominal" positions. However, they got salaries, from taxes, for all positions (not low salaries either), as well as more than one pension from the state! So, how public is that university? Just to add to ITWOP and the very patriotic belief that we should question government and hold it accountable, or we should not call ourselves citizens.
So, another lesson learned from overthinking these last few weeks is savings. If my economic input does not pick up soon (and I admit, I may have to give up the profession I am best suited for, passionate about, and love), my real "honeymoon" that was planned (Europe- West to East) may be the retirement trip, and I have not seen Rome for nearly a decade, but
it may be another decade before I do. This is okay- because the future goals are more important than the vacation, and Virginia, even if it is not running very "public" institutions, has many places to explore.
Wow. This went all over the place!