Privileged information

Since I joined the board of my son's school, I've been privy to all kinds of personal information about his classmates' families.

Among other things, I know:

Who has their tuition paid every month by grandparents

Who routinely pays their tuition bill late

Who pays on time, but calls the next day and asks the treasurer not to cash the check until next Friday

Who pays for several months' worth of tuition at once

Who pays with a check, and who pays with a money order

Who donates $$ to the school's scholarship fund

Who receives a scholarship

Who applied for a scholarship but was rejected because they made too much money

The net worth and salary of all the families who applied for financial aid

I keep being struck by something I already knew, but I could always use a reminder.

Appearances are deceiving. The family that drives a nice car and sends their older kids to a schmancy private school may be receiving financial aid from their youngest kid's preschool. The family that drives a beater and wears handed down clothes may be donating money every month to the school's scholarship fund. And I'm constantly surprised by who pays their bills late.