Why are private schools constantly raising money when they clearly have a surplus?

[Anonymous]

PP again. Most schools do not offer full tuition for teachers here kids.

[Anonymous]

Greed

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We’ve been in private for a few years and we get asked to contribute to the annual fund every year because “ tuition alone doesn’t cover expenses”

I recently went on ProPublica.com, to check on our school as well as many other private schools in the area. The non religious schools that are structured as non profits all have to publicly report earnings, expenses, assets and liabilities, along with their executives salaries.
All prominent private schools in our area that I checked have a surplus ranging from $2 Million to $15 Million , and assets that are well over their liabilities, according to their 2024 tax filings.

Why are we constantly guilted into donating on top of a $50K tuition and being told that our tuition doesn’t cover expenses, when it clearly does, and more?

And yet they pay teachers $60k, like hrs, based ok Glassdoor data. Why?

They pay teachers like $60k a year such as gds.

And many other private school teachers (not GDS I assume) work 9 months a year and receive full tuition for their kids.

They work ten months a year and that's what they're paid for. They live two months without getting paid. And most of the top schools do not offer free tuition to the children of faculty members.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP again. Most schools do not offer full tuition for teachers here kids.

This

[Anonymous]

I live in a hugh rise. We had to replace the chiller for the building and it cost a half a million dollars. My church had to replace their organ and that was a million dollars. Just the reserves for the physical plant alone for the schools need to be massive. If you don’t want to give, don’t give, but expenses can be very high.

[Anonymous]

So they can build up the endowment, be able to issue more financial aid, pay teachers better, and build new buildings.

[Anonymous]

They should just charge everyone more for tuition, but this way the rich can deduct some on their taxes and feel important, and the MC can afford to go or get some FA to make it possible.

[Anonymous]

Gotta keep those admin salaries fat! It’s all a scam and bumper sticker flexing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So they can build up the endowment, be able to issue more financial aid, pay teachers better, and build new buildings.

Yep. This is the correct answer for well-run private schools (and yes there are certainly poorly run ones that don't budget wisely!)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So they can build up the endowment, be able to issue more financial aid, pay teachers better, and build new buildings.

Yep. This is the correct answer for well-run private schools (and yes there are certainly poorly run ones that don't budget wisely!)

So when is it that they will offer more financial aid and pay teachers better?

(And wouldn't keeping tuition down be basically the same thing as offering more financial aid?)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We’ve been in private for a few years and we get asked to contribute to the annual fund every year because “ tuition alone doesn’t cover expenses”

I recently went on ProPublica.com, to check on our school as well as many other private schools in the area. The non religious schools that are structured as non profits all have to publicly report earnings, expenses, assets and liabilities, along with their executives salaries.
All prominent private schools in our area that I checked have a surplus ranging from $2 Million to $15 Million , and assets that are well over their liabilities, according to their 2024 tax filings.

Why are we constantly guilted into donating on top of a $50K tuition and being told that our tuition doesn’t cover expenses, when it clearly does, and more?

And yet they pay teachers $60k, like hrs, based ok Glassdoor data. Why?

They pay teachers like $60k a year such as gds.

And many other private school teachers (not GDS I assume) work 9 months a year and receive full tuition for their kids.

They work ten months a year and that's what they're paid for. They live two months without getting paid. And most of the top schools do not offer free tuition to the children of faculty members.

This--teachers only get paid for the months they work and most schools have done away with tuition remission.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We’ve been in private for a few years and we get asked to contribute to the annual fund every year because “ tuition alone doesn’t cover expenses”

I recently went on ProPublica.com, to check on our school as well as many other private schools in the area. The non religious schools that are structured as non profits all have to publicly report earnings, expenses, assets and liabilities, along with their executives salaries.
All prominent private schools in our area that I checked have a surplus ranging from $2 Million to $15 Million , and assets that are well over their liabilities, according to their 2024 tax filings.

Why are we constantly guilted into donating on top of a $50K tuition and being told that our tuition doesn’t cover expenses, when it clearly does, and more?

And yet they pay teachers $60k, like hrs, based ok Glassdoor data. Why?

They pay teachers like $60k a year such as gds.

And many other private school teachers (not GDS I assume) work 9 months a year and receive full tuition for their kids.

They work ten months a year and that's what they're paid for. They live two months without getting paid. And most of the top schools do not offer free tuition to the children of faculty members.

This--teachers only get paid for the months they work and most schools have done away with tuition remission.

Not defending how very little the $60k/yr school communities pay their teachers, but most people get paid for the months they work.

Don’t know why the PP thinks teachers can’t figure out how to budget for the two months they don’t get a paycheck. They may get paid peanuts but they aren’t stupid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So they can build up the endowment, be able to issue more financial aid, pay teachers better, and build new buildings.

Yep. This is the correct answer for well-run private schools (and yes there are certainly poorly run ones that don't budget wisely!)

So when is it that they will offer more financial aid and pay teachers better?

(And wouldn't keeping tuition down be basically the same thing as offering more financial aid?)

I posted earlier in the thread. I was continually annoyed by administrative decisions where my kids were in school. Realistically though, a sustaining endowment needs to be significant.

Say a school has a $5,000,000 endowment that is partly kept for emergency repairs, collateral for capital expense loans, and financial aid. To maintain that endowment, and only spend earnings (not addressing the unknown future) the old rule of thumb was to only spend 4% annually.

$200,000 a year is a small amount given the costs of running the school, offering financial aid and maintaining buildings and grounds.

Spending down a small endowment offers no long term sustainability. Arguably, schools don’t need a pretty campus to teach basics. Also arguably, most families who want an attractive, child-friendly environment would not opt for a school in a strip mall.

A place like Episcopal High School, with an endowment in the hundreds of millions plus some specified funds, is an outlier.

Most of the area small schools are balancing tight budgets. We don’t always agree with their spending choices, but that’s usually different from surviving beyond the next couple of years.

[Anonymous]

because they will close. they need to build their endowments. the gap between a public teacher and private school teacher is growing right now, inflation is driving up repair costs and maintaining buildings, and schools are big enough that they need to provide an option for health insurance. the choice to donate or not is yours, but schools can't stop asking. When they do run into financial trouble and need to close, people act surprised.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We’ve been in private for a few years and we get asked to contribute to the annual fund every year because “ tuition alone doesn’t cover expenses”

I recently went on ProPublica.com, to check on our school as well as many other private schools in the area. The non religious schools that are structured as non profits all have to publicly report earnings, expenses, assets and liabilities, along with their executives salaries.
All prominent private schools in our area that I checked have a surplus ranging from $2 Million to $15 Million , and assets that are well over their liabilities, according to their 2024 tax filings.

Why are we constantly guilted into donating on top of a $50K tuition and being told that our tuition doesn’t cover expenses, when it clearly does, and more?

And yet they pay teachers $60k, like hrs, based ok Glassdoor data. Why?

They pay teachers like $60k a year such as gds.

And many other private school teachers (not GDS I assume) work 9 months a year and receive full tuition for their kids.

They work ten months a year and that's what they're paid for. They live two months without getting paid. And most of the top schools do not offer free tuition to the children of faculty members.

This--teachers only get paid for the months they work and most schools have done away with tuition remission.

What you should ask is why teachers at Private Schools will put up with being paid a fraction of what they could earn at public schools. Answer: they are often less qualified and don't have a teaching certificate.