If its a private school and her family was somehow the primary sponsor, its certainly possible. But I've seen a lot of ways for public money to trickle into private schools. More often than not, a family like this is simply the gatekeeper of that cash. They aren't going out of pocket for it. They're just funneling money from somewhere else.

I've also heard enough bullshit from school administrative staff to take any kind of private conversation with a high school principle alongside a huge grain of salt. Sometimes it feels like half the job of the principle is to just lie your ass off.