Game Info
Industrial Era science building. Requires University or Wat.
- +3
Science Science - +1 Science Science for every 2 Population Citizens in this City.
- 1 Scientist Specialist Slot
- +1 Gold Gold with Sovereignty Social policy
- +1 Happiness Happiness with Academy of Sciences Order tenet
Strategy
The Public School is a very useful Industrial-era building. Through a number of effects, it greatly increases a city's scientific output. Its main effect is to provide additional Science based on the Population, much like the effect of the Library. Altogether combined with the base rate, this is a total of 2 
Science Science for each 
Population Citizen. It also provides a wide variety of small bonuses. The Specialist slot provides 
Great People Great Scientist potential, and adds to the token science yield on the building itself.
There are minor bonuses which can be added through Social policies can add bonuses, such as effectively reduced maintenance with either Sovereignty (Brave New World) or in the base game, that effect occurs after the Rationalism policy tree is completed. It also provides 1 
Happiness Happiness with either Academy of Sciences or Humanism.
Altogether, this is a strong scientific building. This is especially so for large, Tradition cities and empires, where naturally the ratio of production and maintenance to the output is highest. With Rationalism, this building becomes even easier to support and take advantage of. Policies combined, it can easily output as much as 20 Science Science in one city before percentage boosts. Outside their 
Capital Capital, Liberty empires may not get as much use out of these buildings until Rationalism completes, but will likely want a few heading into the later Eras. An existing Public School is required for the later Research Lab.
Civilopedia entry
A public school provides free pre-university education to a civilization's children. This is a fairly advanced concept. First, the civilization must believe that education is important, and that educating the poor is not a threat to the ruling class. Second, the civilization must be wealthy enough so that the children of the poor do not need to work to fend off starvation. And finally, the civilization must be enlightened enough to be willing to expend some of its public revenue providing the education. Most countries in the world today provide some level of public education for their young. The first American public grade schools opened during the Colonial era. The first public high school was opened in Boston in 1821.