Advice/Input re: public verse private school

Hi fellow law moms! Happy mother’s day! I hope everyone is having a nice day.

I have some quiet time while I wait for my sushi postmates in an empty house and thought I’d ask you ladies for your thoughts on something my husband and I have been disagreeing on.

Brief background: my husband and I (mid 30s) are both attorneys, both come from working class immigrant parents, and are now doing pretty well in that we’re comfortable but not rich. Probs upper middle class although it doesn’t always feel that way in this chaotic economy 😂 We have two kids under 5 with full time childcare.

The issue: Our oldest will start kindergarten in fall 2027 and I want to send her to private school while my husband wants to send her to public.

His position: we both went to public school, we live in a good area, private is a waste of money that can be set aside for college.

My position: I appreciate the community aspect of private school where we’re more likely to know and connect with the other parents and know who our kids are surrounding themselves with. I like the smaller class sizes of private school and think our eldest will thrive in an environment with more attention.& Lastly, while our area is nice, the elementary schools in our zip code have dropped significantly in the last few years in scores. They’re now 6/10 schools with 55% scores in reading comprehension and math. I want our kids to develop a love of learning early on and not feel like they can coast. And we can save for college anyway, it’ll just come at a cost.

What do you all think and what have you decided for your own kiddos and why? Have you come across any studies on the benefits of one versus the other?

Thanks for any & all input!!