This study explores the effects of different methods of selecting school district trustees and the effects of expenditures per pupil on the perceived quality of education. It also examines the success of South Carolina's Education Improvement Act of 1984 (EIA). The dependent variable was the ratio of private school to public school enrollment in South Carolina. This was based on the idea that parents' perception of the success of public schools would affect private school enrollment. Data were gathered on relevant independent variables (e.g., per capita income, number of districts in county, population density) for the period 1956-1987 across the 46 counties in South Carolina based on various editions of the South Carolina Statistical Abstract and the Annual Report of the Department of Education of the State of South Carolina. Findings were: (1) there is no statistically significant relationship between public school expenditures per pupil and the private school/public school enrollment ratio; (2) changes in rules, organizational structure, and incentives mandated by EIA did reduce the relative number of children attending private school; (3) counties with multiple school districts have better public schools relative to the private peers; and (4) when public school trustees are appointed rather than elected, parents tend to send their children to private schools. In addition, population density had the predicted negative effect on the ratio of private to public school enrollment. (KS)