Forum Index
»
Private & Independent Schools
Sidwell "Fair Share" campaign
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
| Any thoughts on what would be a reasonable amount to contribute? |
Anonymous
| Whatever they say the shortfall per student is in the annual education, per child. |
Anonymous
Shortfall? Makes no sense, charge more tuition |
Anonymous
| that would be like $7,000 |
Anonymous
| Really? It's closer to $5,000 at GDS, I think, and we have a much smaller endowment than Sidwell's. |
Anonymous
| 7000 does seem like a lot. Is this posted on their website? Where can one find this informatio? |
Anonymous
| give what you can -- $10, 100, $1000 -- what you feel like is your fair share. participation matters more than the amount. |
Anonymous
|
At our smaller k-8 school, the gap is about $3,000 but some of that gap is filled by the school's profit made on summer camp and also extended day. So in actuality, the true gap not made up in other places may be less than what the school publishes.
Ultimately, 12:48 is correct. Give what makes sense for your family and feel good about whatever amount you decide on. |
Anonymous
| These numbers are simply jokes. Private schools create these accounting gimicks to make you contribute more. Contribute directly to the endowment fund. Tell me that a school should be able to teach kids on $30K a year. There are several schools in the area who either charge less or charge about the same but have substantial outstanding debt. |
Anonymous
| I think the average at Sidwell is in the neighborhood of $1500 per family. But some give substantially more and a surprising number give nothing based on the percentages by class. |
Anonymous
|
I've had reason to review the financial documents of two local private schools and have no reason to believe the "gap" amounts are rigged or gimmicks. The gap amount is the difference between the school's per year cost per child and the tuition. Schools have good reason not to charge the full amount of the cost through tuition.
First, the schools have significant funds to draw upon other than current tuition payments (annual giving funds, other funds, etc.). So no need for current parents to foot the full bill when donors have lightened their load, unless current parent feel they can afford to give more to pay it forward so to speak. Second, it makes financial sense. Tuition payments are not tax deductible for the payer, while contributions to a school's funds are generally (depending on your tax profile and filing choices) tax deductible as charitable donations. Also, may donor entities (foundations, etc.) makes grants (matching and otherwise) based on the amount contributed to a school's funds (and percentage of class/alum, etc. participation), not based on tuition payment amounts. So, splitting financial contributions into tuition payments and sometimes aggressively sought donations in the end seems to make good sense for the school and parents. If parents are surprised by the donations expectations, though, that's certainly a bad thing and schools should work harder to explain the system so people don't feel guilted into something they didn't sign up for in addition to their hefty tuition checks. |
Anonymous
| What these "gap" numbers really mean is that Sidwell along with most other private schools are incapable of controlling their expenses. If a school is spending close to $40K to each a student, that it has serious governance/management issues. I know one Big 5 (not Sidwell) proudly announced a few months ago that they had limited 2010-11 tuition increases to 4.5%, that they were fortunate to be able to increase teacher salaries by more than inflation, and that their future goal was to limit tuition increases to no more than a few points above inflation. In my humble view, none of the foregoing represents anything that deserves congratulations. |
Anonymous
| Does anybody else find the name "fair share" fund offensive? If our school suggested that our annual contributions were anything other than totally voluntary gifts, which we gladly give because we support the school's mission -- rather than some implicit tax based on somebody else's perception of our ability to pay, as Sidwell's appellation implies -- we'd be running for the hills. |
Anonymous
| Seriously, if you think your private school is engaging in accounting fraud, that is one issue. And I hope you would not seek to associate with a fraudulent establishment. But if you are in a private school, you should cover the difference between your child's (or children's) tuition and what it costs to educate your child if you can at all afford it (and most of us in private school can). Another measure? Look at the class participation from the previous (or prior) year ... divide by number of people in the class ... THEN MULTIPLY BY 2. That is what you should pay if you have resources to do so, to cover some family that cannot pay. (Guess what, for most schools that is about the shortfall per year per student). This isn't about being CHEAP. This is about paying for what it actually costs to educate your child. You are choosing not to go to a public school where taxpayers cover the cost of educating your kids. In private school - you need to cover yourself, including the shortfall. I have kids in both private and public and I do this in both schools. I always pay 2X what is asked for the annual campaign PLUS all manner of other donations. So many parents are CHEAP. |
Anonymous
And others...like me...barely pay the full freight tuition for two kids. I give every year, but I can't swing the shortfall. |