By Steve Strunsky | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

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The Lawrenceville School was once the costliest private school in the nation. (Michael Mancuso | The Times of Trenton)

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LAWRENCEVILLE — Most people probably don't think about the cost of their child's public schools until it comes time to pay their property taxes. But parents of private school students are reminded whenever it's time to cut a tuition check, and there are some pretty pricey schools in New Jersey, where for years the Lawrenceville School had the highest tuition in the country.

Carole Everett, executive director of the New Jersey Association of Independent Schools, said several factors determined tuition: payroll costs for highly qualified and ample faculty and staff needed to offer a broad range of academic and athletic programs and to maintain academic excellence, small class sizes and a low student-teacher ratio; acquisition and maintenance of attractive campuses and state-of-the-art facilities and technology; and a wide array of services, including round-the-clock security.

The tuition information provided here is from each school's website. It includes figures for the 2017-2018 year, for grades 9-12, and reflects the cost of a single student without additional fees or other expenses or multi-student discounts. Costs for boarding, which can be up to $20,000 a year, are not included.

Parents who can afford the schools may be getting what they pay for. Niche.com, which ranks private schools nationwide, gave an A+ to all but two of the Garden State's 20 highest priced schools, which are ranked here in reverse order by the cost of tuition, accompanied by one of the school's own videos.

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20. Princeton Day School, $34,600

Princeton Day School is a pre-K-12 institution with roots dating back to 1899, with the founding of Miss Fine's School for girls, which in 1965 merged with the Princeton Country Day School for boys to form the co-ed PDS.

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19. Rutgers Preparitory School, $35,600

The 251-year-old Rutgers Prep, located in Franklin Township, is the oldest day school in New Jersey and, like its former affiliate, Rutgers University, predates the United States. It was chartered in 1766 as Queens College Grammar School by the royal governor of New Jersey under England's King George III, before joining Queens College in changing its name to honor the Revolutionary War hero and philanthropist, Henry Rutgers, in 1825. Unlike the college, which became the state university of New Jersey in the mid-20th Century, Rutgers Prep has remained private.

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18. Gill St. Bernard's School, $36,000

Gill St. Bernard's School, is a pre-K-12 day school in Peapack-Gladstone, Somerset County. The roots of Gill-St. Bernard's date back to 1900, with the founding of the all-boys St. Bernard's School, which in 1972 merged with The Gill School for girls, 38 years after it was established.

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17. Wardlaw-Hartrigde School, $36,515

The Wardlaw-Hartridge School in Edison, a pre-K-12 coed institution, has roots dating back to 1882, when the Leal School was founded in Plainfield, before being purchased by one of its teachers, Charles Digby "Pop" Wardlaw, and later relocated. Wardlaw was rated by Niche.com as the sixth most diverse private school in New Jersey, and is atypical of state's 20 highest-priced prep schools in that it is not overwhelmingly white.

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16. The Pennington School, $36,300

Founded 179 years ago in the Mercer County borough of the same name, the Pennington School is a co-ed institution for grades 6-12, which prides itself on a history of progressiveness and inclusion. "From the year of the school's launch in 1838, students from all religious, racial, and socioeconomic backgrounds have found Pennington a warm and welcoming place to learn and live," the school states. "In 1975, the Edmund V. Cervone Center for Learning was founded to address the academic needs of bright students with learning disabilities."

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15. Stuart Country Day School, $36,700

Stuart Country Day School of the Sacred Heart is a pre-K-12 all-girls Catholic school in Princeton, founded in 1963 and named for Mother Janet Stuart, a nun and educator in 19th and 20th Century England. The school says, "Lively classroom discussions weave religion, politics and culture into all aspects of learning, helping students construct value systems they can articulate and live."

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14. Montclair Kimberly Academy, $37,270

Montclair Kimberly Academy, or MKA, is a co-ed, pre-K-12 school in Montclair. "As diverse as it is united, our community is strengthened by a commitment to good character, and together we celebrate each student's success, individually defined," the school says of itself. The school has roots dating back to 1887, with the founding of Montclair Academy, a boys school, which merged in 1974 with The Kimberly School and Brookside to form MKA.

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13. Oak Knoll School of the Holy Child, $37,800

Oak Knoll School of the Holy Child in Summit is for girls in grades K-12 (in addition to boys K-6), describing itself as "Judeo-Christian in heritage, Roman Catholic in teaching and worship." Founded in 1924, it is one of 10 academic institutions under the Holy Child Network of Schools.

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12. Delbarton School, $37,900

Delbarton School, founded in Morristown in 1939, describes itself as, "an independent Roman Catholic learning community guided by the Benedictine monks of St. Mary's Abbey with their lay colleagues." The grades 7-12 boys school "welcomes diverse young men and challenges them to pursue excellence, to build character, and to develop leadership through service, by educating the whole person: mind, body and spirit."

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11. Saddle River Day School, $37,960

Saddle River Day School in Bergen County is a K-12 coeducational institution. The school is notable for its foreign language program, which begins in kindergarten and continues as a requirement through senior year, when tuition rises by $1,000, to $38,960. Saddle River Day was one of two schools on the top 20 tuition list that did not receive an A+ from Niche.com. It got an A.

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10. The Pingry School, $38,273

The Pingry School, a co-ed institution located in Basking Ridge, was founded in 1861 by Dr. John Francis Pingry, to "instill in its students a sense of honor, strength of character, and a commitment to service both to the nation and the world," according to the school's web site.

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9. Kent Place School, $38,995

Kent Place, an all-girls K-12 school in Summit, describes itself as "the only non-sectarian girls' day school" in the state. "Why a Girls' School?" it asks on its web site. "At Kent Place, girls do not just have equal opportunity. They have every opportunity."

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8. The Hun School of Princeton, $39,000

The Hun School of Princeton a co-ed institution for grades 6-12 that was founded in 1914, bids would-be students to "discover the world and your place within it." If Hun is your place to live as well as learn, it'll cost another $20,000 for the academic year, for a total of $59,000 for tuition, room and board.

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7. Newark Academy, $39,350

Newark Academy is not in Newark, having moved to Livingston in 1964. One of handful of pre-Colonial schools still operating, it is considered the seventh oldest in private school in America, and the second oldest day school after Rutgers Prep.

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6. Blair Academy, $40,500

Blair Academy in Blairstown, a co-ed high school established in 1848, was ranked New Jersey's "best Christian high school," by Niche.com. "Blair is blessed to have its own nine-hole golf course right on campus," the school states on its website.

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5. Morristown-Beard School, $40,760

Morristown-Beard School is a coed day school for grades 6-12, in Morristown, where the school's roots date back to 1891, with the founding of the Beard School for girls, which later merged with the Morristown School. The school emphasizes growth through challenge. "When I find myself feeling uncomfortable, I know that's a good thing because it means I'm taking risks," Alex Motley, the 2015-16 class president and varsity football captain, says on the school web site.

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4. Dwight-Englewood School, $41,780

Dwight-Englewood School, is a coed pre-K-12 school in Englewood, Bergen County, with roots dating back to 1889, when the Dwight School for Girls was founded by admirers of the Yale University president, the Rev. Timothy Dwight V. It merged with the Englewood School for boys in 1973, to form Dwight-Englewood. On its website, the school calls itself, "the most ethnically diverse school in Bergen County with students who represent over 80 communities in New Jersey and New York."

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3. Peddie School, $43,500

Peddie School, in Hightstown, is a 9-12 co-educational institution founded in 1864. "Here," the school says on its website, "faculty is family, the campus is home and the world is our classroom."

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2. Purnell School, $44,570

Purnell School in the Pottersville section of Bedminster, was founded in 1963 as a school "for adolescent girls who would not find success at more traditional schools," as its website states. With just 80 students and 19 faculty, the school has an extraordinarily low student-faculty ratio of 4.2-1, with an emphasis on the relationship between teachers and students and development of self-confidence. Purnell was the other top-20 school that did not get an A+ from Niche.com, which gave it an A-.

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1. The Lawrenceville School, $51,440

Located in the Mercer County town of the same name, the co-educational Lawrencville School is perennially pricey, having topped a nationwide list of most expensive schools put together by Business Insider for four straight years from 2011 to 2015, before being priced out of the top spot by the all-boys Salisbury School in Salisbury, Connecticut. Niche.com ranked Lawrenceville the 4th best private school in the nation.

If you board there, the annual cost is $63,625, including technology and infirmary fees.

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Steve Strunsky may be reached at sstrunsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SteveStrunsky. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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