You can afford 费什伯恩 Military School

Tia Brown was at wits’ end last fall as her son Parker struggled to adjust to eighth grade.

帕克是个好学生, 她说, but he didn’t like the larger class sizes at his middle school or how chaotic 和 noisy it was in classes, the hallways 和 common areas. Perhaps the most worrisome problem was that Parker couldn’t focus on the teacher or assignments 和 chose to act up instead.

“He’s a great kid… but it was just rough,布朗说, a single parent residing in Christiansburg, 维吉尼亚州, 布莱克斯堡附近.

最后, Brown gave her 14-year-old an ultimatum to straighten up: a choice between virtual learning or military school.

He warmed to the idea of military school, but there remained one tall hurdle. How would the family afford tuition at his top choice, nearby 和 historic 费什伯恩 Military School, 这个大概要40美元,000 a year for tuition 和 fees?

Brown’s solution: She tapped a 529 college savings account that her late mother had created for Parker when he was born.

“If it hadn’t been for the 529, I wouldn’t be able to afford the tuition,布朗说, an entrepreneur 和 part owner of a Budget Blinds franchise.

Brown said she was unaware that 529 accounts could be used for anything other than qualified college costs until a financial adviser brought it to her attention. The result: Parker started at 费什伯恩 in January, 和 he “just loves it,” his mother said. His grades have improved, 和 so has his disposition. He is also involved in athletics 和 has moved up through the ranks.

Since Congress in 2018 approved exp和ing the usage of the tax-advantaged 529 funds to include paying for private primary 和 secondary education, more than $104 million has been used to cover K-12 tuition just in 维吉尼亚州’s Invest529 program, 玛丽·莫里斯说, the program’s chief executive.

有529个计划, parents can withdraw up to $10,000 per year per beneficiary for tuition to cover public, private or religious K-12 education. Keep in mind this benefit covers tuition only. Of course, there are also long-term tax benefits with 529 accounts.

尽管稳步上升, using 529 funds early remains a small percentage of total expenditures, 玛丽·莫里斯说, chief executive of 维吉尼亚州’s Invest529 program.

While many private 和 religious schools offer financial aid, most of the financial responsibility falls on parents, gr和parents or other family members. 在布朗的案例中, the 529 funds covered a chunk of Fishburn’s tuition in Parker’s first semester, 和 the school also offers scholarships to help bridge the gap.

Her goal is to continue to tap the 529 account to pay for Parker’s tuition over the next four high school years while replenishing the account to save for potential higher-education costs.

事实上, some financial advisers recommend that parents who can afford it set up a 529 plan just for K-12 qualified expenses while maintaining a separate account for college.

Whether it’s for a military academy or not, Brown recommends parents open 529s — or any other options — as early as possible to meet the financial dem和s of education. She believes Parker will be much better prepared for life now that he’s at 费什伯恩, which could lead to college scholarships down the road.

“Investing in his high school years was unexpected,布朗说, “but is setting him up for the right college 和 career path much sooner. I think his gr和mother would be very proud.”