RALEIGH — A nonprofit group that wants North Carolina to let corporations channel their taxes into private school scholarships said the schools cost less than people think.

Parents for Educational Freedom in North Carolina said Monday it asked more than 640 private elementary and high schools statewide how much they charged and got responses from nearly 90 percent. The group says the average yearly tuition is $6,200. The average tuition drops to $5,400 by excluding the 10 percent that are expensive college-prep and special needs schools.

The group last year lobbied for a law to allow corporations to divert their state taxes to nonprofits that would then distribute scholarships of up to $4,000 per student for private school tuition. Taxpayers spent an average of $8,400 for each public school student last year.