re Harry Potter and the Half-Crazed Bureaucracy

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 147490

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "deborahhbbrd" <hubbada at ...> wrote:
>
> Olivierfouquet raises the point of how Hogwarts is funded.
> Presumably it would be in the Ministry's interests to keep it
> afloat, ...
> 
> ...edited...
> 
> The extras - all the trips, the laboratory equipment, the sport
> (except for the clothes, bats and balls etc), the library and
> computer facilities, the duplicated notes - are all paid for out
> of the school's investments, as are various prizes and awards. 
> These come from Old Boys who have remembered the place in their 
> wills, mostly, or just made bequests of some kind while still 
> alive.  ... So, can we imagine that in a society where a Lucius 
> Malfoy can make himself famous and popular by giving well targeted
> donations, some more moral people would like to help their old 
> school along? ...
> 
> Deborah,...

bboyminn:

I have several long essays on how Hogwarts is run and funded, and they
are very consistent with your example. I would only add that there was
probably an original Founder's Grant that started the school. Since
Salazar Slytherin helped found and build the school, even though he
left, he still contributed a substantial investment in helping obtain
the land, build the buildings, and equip the school. 

You mentioned Lucius Malfoy as a contributor, and I will point out the
Lucius was on the Board of Governors. I have always suspected that the
Board of Governors was made up of the largest historical financial
contributor to Hogwarts. Note: I say 'largest historical' contributors
because I feel that some of the donations were large enough that the
decendants of the original contributor continue to hold his seat on
the Board.

I suspect there may be one or two honorary seats on the board, but
again since large contributor have the largest financial stake in
Hogwarts, they have the greatest interest in wanting to make sure
their money is managed properly. They would be concerned that the
money was not wasted or pilfered. In a way, it is like the Board of
Directors of a large corporation; they are the people with the largest
financial stake in the company, and are allowed on the Board as a way
of managing, controlling, and protecting their investments. 

As far as the Minstry, I don't think Hogwart is a fully publically
funded school. It would certainly be in the interest of the government
to have some control over Hogwarts, but I think Founders and Alumni
funding would be greater. That means the best the Ministry could hope
for would be a seat or two on the Board of Governors. Through these
seats on the Board, they would try and control how Hogwarts was run.

Now, independant of the Board of Governors, the Ministry represents
law in the wizard world. Therefore, if they pass laws, people have to
obey them, and if they pass laws that regulate the school, the school
has to obey them. I think this is what we are seeing happening in
OotP. Since the Ministry doesn't have enough power to override the
Board of Governors, they choose a legislative approach to trying to
take control of the school. Really kind of foolish since it makes a
public record of all their attempts to subvert Dumbledore and control
the school. Notice that once Dumbledore has won and Voldemort's
presences in indisputable, all the legislation affecting the school is
withdrawn.

I really feel very strongly that this model of a private school funded
by the Founders and Alumni with the Ministry being a secondary funder,
and the Board of Governor being made up of the people with the largest
financial interest in the school is the correct one. It also nicely
explains why Tuition has never been mentioned. Note that many of the
most famous private (as in privately funded) schools in Britian
started out as charity schools. 

I've yet to see any other model that explained away all the apparent
inconsistencies found in the books.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Steve/bboyminn