How to monetize education quality?

[Ozone]

I'm trying to put several job offers into a matrix for myself, similar to what's recommended by the "your money or your life" crowd.  My options are:
1) excellent public school district nearby (9/10 on great schools & A on the niche), with a 1 hour 10 min commute for the job and good/excellent pay. No need to move
2) poor school district in another state (3/10 on the great schools website and a C on the niche website), 20 minute commute and excellent pay. Need to move
3) excellent school district in another state (9/10 on great schools & A on the niche), with a 5 minute commute and good/excellent pay. Need to move

In my job matrix, I am not sure how to monetize the "cost" of a crappy school district.  I know the arguments about it's all about the parents, etc.  But, there are limits when it comes to kids and their peers and what they see their peers doing. 

Secondarily: is there a way to monetize the "cost" of having to move and start making new friends, build new business relationships, etc?  I realize that moving is a one-time cost in many ways, but we have settled into our current situation and it's going to be a pain to have to develop a whole new social structure. 

[Cranky]

How old are your kids?

[lbmustache]

Is the commute for #1 total (i.e. ~30min each way) or per way (i.e. 2+ hours total). If it's the latter... ugh. Seriously, commuting is the absolute worst and few things feel like such a massive waste of time. The *only* good thing about a long commute is maybe uninterrupted podcast time, but I'd rather be at home doing that anyway.

#2 doesn't make much sense because you're essentially in the same position as #3, but with a longer commute and a slight (?) increase in pay. How much more money are you earning here to offset a not-great school district?

#3 sounds the most appealing to me although moving house and starting afresh can be tough. I think it's a bit easier with schoolbag children as you automatically have people you talk to, and can thus form friendships from that? Just a guess.

[ZMonet]

I don't have the formula for you.  I think you raise some good points that would need to be factored in, but I think their impact depends largely on the individual.  For some, changing schools wouldn't bother them at all, whereas for others it could be debilitating.  The same could be said for a commute (taking a train/bus, versus your driving slogging through traffic makes a huge difference IMO). 

Others may disagree, but I'm not sure I would take Greatschools as gospel on the quality of the school.  I think it is a good ballpark (2 vs. 9 tells you something) but I'm not sure I would necessarily say that a school rated a "10" is better than a school that is rated an "8" anyplace other than on Greatschools.  A lot of those scores are so heavily skewed towards testing and don't give you close to the full picture.

[FoundPeace]

I like the sound of number 3. I moved to the opposite side of the country because of a promotion, a shorter commute, and mostly because the school was the best school possible for my rowdy kids (it’s a school where they spend most of their time outdoors).

A short commute means more time with the kids, and a good school can make or brake your kids’ future. I do agree about not trusting the ratings though. It would be ideal if you could talk to parents and/or teachers before you make a decision.


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[affordablehousing]

I think you could monetize it by what the cost of private education is and whether that is necessary at the 3/10 location versus the 9/10 location.

[Ozone]

Thanks everyone, for the suggestions and ideas.  My spouse is a school psychologist by training, and has similar points about the ratings that several of you have made.  That said,  I see the ratings similar to a thermometer.  You know if you have a fever, you don't know what's causing it, however.  So, as one of you pointed out, there's probably not much difference between a 7/10 and a 9/10.  But 3/10 vs 9/10 might mean something.  The 3/10 school area only has religious schools for private schooling and they are all 15k and up. 

My kids are elementary and middle school age, so it is somewhat important for them to be in a good school system. 

#1 just changed in that I found out that the pay is likely to be about 20-30k more than #3.  Also, #1 offers a retirement pension-type plan (paid by the company) in addition to the normal 401k matching options.  The other wrinkle: #1 told me that they might have me do shorter commutes for part of the week.

By my reckoning, the long commute will have a running cost of about 4k per year (maintenance, tires, gas), not to mention depreciation on the car.  Perhaps an electric car?  Although, when it gets down to -10, the electric cars up here all struggle to keep their "mileage."

All that said, I have actual contracts for #2 & #3, only promises for #1 so far.

[nereo]

in my experience, the involvement of the parent(s) are paramount - a child with involved parents who place a priority on education will do well in an average school system, whereas the best school system in the country won't mean much if the parents aren't involved.

I'd actively avoid very bad school systems, but otherwise my time and involvement mean more than the school's reputation. If one job means I'll be away more and be less involved, that negates the edge of even the best school district.
YMMV.