Sidwell "Fair Share" campaign

[Anonymous]

My understanding is that Sidwell asks for varying amounts from different families. Doesn't seem "Quakerly" but must be good business sense. They research the families based on various demographic info as well as public donation records (ie political campaigns) and then come up with a number for each family.

[Anonymous]

Well they must be pretty good at it. My letter asked for the exact amount that I was planning to give!

Anonymous wrote:My understanding is that Sidwell asks for varying amounts from different families. Doesn't seem "Quakerly" but must be good business sense. They research the families based on various demographic info as well as public donation records (ie political campaigns) and then come up with a number for each family.

[Anonymous]

Every educational institution I've ever given to (including Sidwell) looks at last year's donation, ups it a bit, and asks for that amount.

[Anonymous]

There are new Sidwell families with no giving history to the school that were asked for different amounts.

[Anonymous]

The bigger the gap, the better. Folks who don't understand this should take a look at the gap at places like Harvard. Its huge. All schools want to have a balance between tuition dollars and fundraising/endowment dollars. Its not good to be too reliant on one (except, see Harvard ). This has nothing to do with mismanagement of funds/budgets.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No, what Sidwell and the rest of the private schools need to do is to rein in their expenses, something that they have shown no ability to do so.

Ever sat on a board of trustees? Do you have any clue what it takes to run a fantastic school with wonderful teachers? Do you know that private school teachers make less than public school teachers? You need to have good benefits, etc to get the good teachers. I love when people make assumtions about issues they have no knowledge about. That seems to be all this forum does. SO sad - people - do your research! Talk to the school - they will account for every dollar they spend.

[Anonymous]

Is fair share separate from the Annual Fund? Does this mean that you should give to both? Or is it the same thing? Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No, what Sidwell and the rest of the private schools need to do is to rein in their expenses, something that they have shown no ability to do so.

Ever sat on a board of trustees? Do you have any clue what it takes to run a fantastic school with wonderful teachers? Do you know that private school teachers make less than public school teachers? You need to have good benefits, etc to get the good teachers. I love when people make assumtions about issues they have no knowledge about. That seems to be all this forum does. SO sad - people - do your research! Talk to the school - they will account for every dollar they spend.

I fundamentally disagree. Private schools are notorious for having a culture where no one wants to make waives. Simply because schools can account for every dollary does NOT mean that they are not overspending. Having read too many financial statements, etc, it is very easy to hide stuff, particularly on the margins. So, one must dig deep into a school's finances for the details, and a few conversations with school administrators will not produce sufficient detail. But private schools have been increasing their tuition at a faster rate than inflation for decades, and increases in teacher salaries are not responsible for all of that tuition increase. So, school boards and administrators msut rein in their expenses as the PP noted. I am confident that most private schools could cut expenses by 10% at least without affecting the quality of the education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What I find fundamentally dishonest is the implication that, if and to the extent that our family can afford it (which we can), our "fair share" means making a contribution equal to the "tuition gap." The "tuition gap" is meant to suggest that Sidwell's costs in educating a child are approximately $40K per child. So, since I am not paying that amount in tuition, and since I can afford to contribute the difference, I should do so. That logic, however, suggests that the $40K is a real number and that Sidwell has reached that number only after doing all it can do to keep down that $40K number. I simply do not believe that Sidwell hasever undertaken a serious effort to keep expenses in control, so I say before asking me to contribute what you define as my "fair share", I require far more convincing that Sidwell has made a serious and good faith effort to run a tight ship. I think that is only"fair" and "rational."

I fully agree.