Regulatory Obstacles To Opening A New Private School

The report, "Addition and Subtraction: State And Local RegulatoryObstacles To Opening A New Private School," highlights the stories of California entrepreneurs who were engulfed in red tape and bureaucracy when launching school projects.

For example, Michael Leahy, founder of the Alsion Montessori Middle/HighSchool in Fremont, estimated that the natural cost of building hisschool was $400,000, but the total cost came to about $1.2 millionbecause of numerous regulations, like the one requiring that he installa red tile roof. Ray Youmans, president of Innovative Component Groups Inc. in Sacramento, explains that he hoped to build a 10,000 square foot roof on a school property, simply a structure without walls, to protectthe area from the rain and sun. The government required his company toinstall a $40,000 sprinkler system even though the structure was madeentirely of steel and had no chance of catching fire.

[Editor's note: The link below is to a 1.5 MB PDF document.]

Thanks to Adrian Moore