Ep 78Why Is Jewish Tuition So Expensive?! A School Director Opens Up
I can't stand when schools nickel and dime parents
Mrs. Ahuvah Heyman
Why Is Jewish Tuition So Expensive?! A School Director Opens Up
with Mrs. Ahuvah Heyman
When someone gets a tuition break, that money doesn't go away. The need doesn't go away. The need comes back in the form of fundraising.
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Quotes
“You're hitting people on their two most vulnerable spots, their children and their money. And you're doing it together.”
“You cannot expect anyone to be a teacher a half a day for $22,000.”
“Full tuition does not cover the cost of fully taking care of your child.”
“Every single girl should be welcomed and treated like the girl next to her regardless of their parent's ability to pay.”
“The culture starts from the top. If you appreciate your staff, they will appreciate their students.”
“If you're able to pay full tuition, do it.”
Takeaways
- 1 Tuition varies widely, from about $4,000-5,000 in Boro Park to $35,000 at some Modern Orthodox schools, driven by buildings, class size, competition and high-school staffing.
- 2 Heyman's school, Bnos Yisroel of Baltimore, has about 585 girls from nursery to 12th grade. It stays small on purpose so staff know every girl.
- 3 Full tuition does not cover the cost per child, and full payers are not funding others' breaks. The school raises every dollar of each reduction through fundraising.
- 4 High school costs more because a class can have 15-20 teachers, compared with about two in the early grades.
- 5 Utilities, water, workers' comp and security costs have risen sharply. Gas, electric and water are each up about 20% in three years.
- 6 Her school is in year three of a four-year plan to raise teacher pay. Half-day teachers average in the low $30,000s, and she says it should be double or triple.
- 7 The tuition form dropped questions about car makes, cleaning help and summer camp. She says the FACTS system doesn't fit frum family budgets.
- 8 Families whose income changed by less than $30,000 get last year's rate plus about 3-4%, with no new application.
- 9 She sends every full-tuition family a personal thank-you letter in the first two weeks of school.
- 10 A Baltimore donor is returning 3.5% of full tuition to parents who pay in full.
- 11 She wants school budgets open to review: a monthly budget-to-actual report to the finance committee, and no hidden fees.