USA Today has this report: More parents request aid, pull kids from private schools.

A snippet:

More of the parents sticking with private schools are asking for financial aid, straining school endowments that withered with the stock market. The National Association of Independent Schools said 2,400 independent and parochial schools it worked with reported a 4.3% jump in the number of families applying for aid. …

It’s likely, though, that the full effect of the faltering economy has yet to hit — steep reductions may come this spring when parents who paid tuition for the current school year before the meltdown decide whether to re-enroll their children.

It is difficult, although not impossible, to find tuition assistance for local K-12 private schools. The trick is finding sponsors who will, and can, financially support such a program. Your school principal or development office will know what funds are available for students at your school.

In the meantime, one thing families whose financial circumstances have worsened can do right now is to apply for free and reduced-price school lunches at the schools that participate in the federal lunch program. Ask your school principal or secretary for the packet.

(P.S. This story is also scheduled to be in the Tuesday edition of The Monroe Evening News.)