Enough is enough

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kids attended public school but are now at private universities. I would never give a cent more than outrageously exorbitant tuition. I am well aware that my dollars go to the top administration's second home's pool budget, and not the living expenses of the hard-working teachers.

The USA, contrary to other countries, has decided that wants an arms race of who can poach which high-earning administrator to its school. This is where the waste is. For many private schools, money is also spent on completely unnecessary luxuries that have nothing to do with academics and their core mission to educate (instead of wildly entertaining and cushioning).

All good reasons why I didn't actually pay for private K-12. I am willing to pay for private unis if they're in the top 10 for my kids' majors, since those come with certain professional advantages. But no donations.

That's a sensible parent. +1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids attended public school but are now at private universities. I would never give a cent more than outrageously exorbitant tuition. I am well aware that my dollars go to the top administration's second home's pool budget, and not the living expenses of the hard-working teachers.

The USA, contrary to other countries, has decided that wants an arms race of who can poach which high-earning administrator to its school. This is where the waste is. For many private schools, money is also spent on completely unnecessary luxuries that have nothing to do with academics and their core mission to educate (instead of wildly entertaining and cushioning).

All good reasons why I didn't actually pay for private K-12. I am willing to pay for private unis if they're in the top 10 for my kids' majors, since those come with certain professional advantages. But no donations.

This surprises me. Our HOS receives a high but fair salary. They're basically on-call 24 hours/day and have to be available for everything all the time. They're consoling a kid in the hallway one minute, managing a staffing issue the next, and meeting with a high level donor the next hour all while fielding calls about some very complex legal issue that the school is facing. Ours definitely doesn't have a 2nd home, but rather a kind of meh rental (because they relocated from a less expensive area).

That's what HOS are supposed to do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you didn’t expect tuition increases that outpaced inflation and most salaries, you didn’t do much in the way of research.

As for donating and volunteering, do what you want. No one needs a white paper on the subject, just do whatever feels right.

+1

OP, are you looking for applause with this post, or what?

Not really. Just smarter comments.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our tuition has barely gone up. ( Christian K-8) but I don’t just give extra money. I support them in person as well, volunteering my time, there are plenty of people that do neither so i feel good about my choices.

Good for you! that's the way its supposed to be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They are running a business: they don't know the rate at which your salary increases or what decisions go into that. They only know what their business costs to run and what the market will bear.

This is the reason. People who send their kids to your expensive school will pay and there is a line of parents standing just outside the front door who are also willing to pay. The schools are businesses and will charge what they can get.

Sure. That's why is good to lower donations. They will charge what they can get.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The financial aid parents are already free loading off the the tuition that full pay families are paying. If you are full pay, you are already contributing more than average due to the free loaders.

Totally agree. I do not receive financial aid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Since my child joined a private school, I’ve noticed a consistent pattern: every year, tuition increases by several percentage points more than my salary. Over time, this gap has widened to the point where the financial pressure no longer feels justified.

Starting this year, I’ve made a simple decision. I’ll continue volunteering my time to support the school community, but I will only donate $1 to fundraising efforts. I’ll reconsider that position once tuition increases start to fall below the rate of my own wage growth.

I’m 100 percent confident this is the ethical choice. Private schools are already granted significant tax exemptions and operate with far more financial flexibility than most families. If they choose to increase costs faster than the income of the people paying them, they can’t expect those same families to contribute even more beyond tuition. Volunteering is a meaningful form of support, and for now, that will be the main way I give back.

Glad you will at least be giving a $1 each year to help with participation rates. That's helpful.

One word of warning - I would not follow this approach if your school doesn't go through 12th. It will hurt yourapplication if you need to apply out for higher grades.

I goes through 12th grade and I am perfectly fine donating $1.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Good. Glad someone is calling these schools out. St Mary’s tuition seems ti go up every year by 5 pct or more, PLUS large increases in fees this year.

Yes! Not sure why parents are so sheepish.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Since my child joined a private school, I’ve noticed a consistent pattern: every year, tuition increases by several percentage points more than my salary. Over time, this gap has widened to the point where the financial pressure no longer feels justified.

Starting this year, I’ve made a simple decision. I’ll continue volunteering my time to support the school community, but I will only donate $1 to fundraising efforts. I’ll reconsider that position once tuition increases start to fall below the rate of my own wage growth.

I get the frustration at the general economic climate, but for most schools, they're not raising tuition for the heck of it. They're well aware parents don't like that. But they need to do salary increases for their employees (that hopefully don't get entirely cancelled out by inflation) and deal with a whole web of insurance needs, none of which is really negotiable. For most schools, those are the big ticket items. I imagine some schools out there spend money in silly ways, but most of them are just trying to navigate the same pressures as you and I are – even more so for secular schools that don't get subsidies from a religious organization.

I would guess that’s also if donations drop they will adjust a bit and school will survive with a smaller budget. Harvard is doing the same thing.

You understand how big Harvard's endowment is, right? It might be dwindling these days, given the assault on academic freedom by Trump and his followers of the American fascist party, but it's still HUGE. Also, a smaller budget means fewer teachers, fewer field trips, fewer everything.

That's ok. If families have to live within their means why not schools?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Since my child joined a private school, I’ve noticed a consistent pattern: every year, tuition increases by several percentage points more than my salary. Over time, this gap has widened to the point where the financial pressure no longer feels justified.

Starting this year, I’ve made a simple decision. I’ll continue volunteering my time to support the school community, but I will only donate $1 to fundraising efforts. I’ll reconsider that position once tuition increases start to fall below the rate of my own wage growth.

I’m 100 percent confident this is the ethical choice. Private schools are already granted significant tax exemptions and operate with far more financial flexibility than most families. If they choose to increase costs faster than the income of the people paying them, they can’t expect those same families to contribute even more beyond tuition. Volunteering is a meaningful form of support, and for now, that will be the main way I give back.

I hate to tell you, but private school tuition increases ALWAYS happen every year. I think there might have been one year during COVID when they didn't, but otherwise they've always increased around 3% a year. It sounds as though private might not be a good choice for you, especially considering the cost to educate your child is in fact more than the tuition you pay. Ask any financial aid officer at your school. There's a gap that funds such as the annual fund help to cover.

It’s a good choice for my kid and I will donate $1 and volunteer. I would guess that’s also ok for the schools since donations are voluntary.

$1 is just downright nasty. Instead of being a jerk why not just volunteer and call it a day? No need to make a political statement with the $1. Nowhere is tuition priced out according to the incomes of the parents that make up the body. It comes down to their needs and yes profit.

If you can’t afford to send your kid to private school, I’m sorry.. take your measly $1 to public school. Or better yet, plan better. Factoring things like school cost, cost of living, salary increases are all things to consider when deciding to have children.. deciding what career path to embark on.. deciding whether to put your kids in private school. Are you people really out here just having babies and not forward thinking at all?

If donations are voluntary what's so offensive of donating $1 and volunteer?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good. Glad someone is calling these schools out. St Mary’s tuition seems ti go up every year by 5 pct or more, PLUS large increases in fees this year.

How else will schools pay for the rising costs of benefits for faculty and staff? You realize these costs go up every year, right?

Yes, they could go up about the same as inflation, not several percetange points higher.

[Anonymous]

If you have to think twice about the cost of sending a couple of kids to private school for 14 years, you shouldn't send them to private school to begin with. There are good public school districts in the DMV. Better to have a home in one of those districts rather than be troubled by the annual tuition increases at private schools, which fundamentally operate as for-profit businesses. What private schools in DC sell is exclusivity. $48,000 a year for tuition keeps the middle class out. That's what you pay for.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you have to think twice about the cost of sending a couple of kids to private school for 14 years, you shouldn't send them to private school to begin with. There are good public school districts in the DMV. Better to have a home in one of those districts rather than be troubled by the annual tuition increases at private schools, which fundamentally operate as for-profit businesses. What private schools in DC sell is exclusivity. $48,000 a year for tuition keeps the middle class out. That's what you pay for.

You are right. And I guess its also fine to donate $1.

The school is not going to kick out my kid for paying as much as I do (and a tuition closer to 60k by the way, I would love your 48k number).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you have to think twice about the cost of sending a couple of kids to private school for 14 years, you shouldn't send them to private school to begin with. There are good public school districts in the DMV. Better to have a home in one of those districts rather than be troubled by the annual tuition increases at private schools, which fundamentally operate as for-profit businesses. What private schools in DC sell is exclusivity. $48,000 a year for tuition keeps the middle class out. That's what you pay for.

Yep. These schools are elitist. Anyone who thinks otherwise hasn’t had a kid at one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Since my child joined a private school, I’ve noticed a consistent pattern: every year, tuition increases by several percentage points more than my salary. Over time, this gap has widened to the point where the financial pressure no longer feels justified.

Starting this year, I’ve made a simple decision. I’ll continue volunteering my time to support the school community, but I will only donate $1 to fundraising efforts. I’ll reconsider that position once tuition increases start to fall below the rate of my own wage growth.

I get the frustration at the general economic climate, but for most schools, they're not raising tuition for the heck of it. They're well aware parents don't like that. But they need to do salary increases for their employees (that hopefully don't get entirely cancelled out by inflation) and deal with a whole web of insurance needs, none of which is really negotiable. For most schools, those are the big ticket items. I imagine some schools out there spend money in silly ways, but most of them are just trying to navigate the same pressures as you and I are – even more so for secular schools that don't get subsidies from a religious organization.

I would guess that’s also if donations drop they will adjust a bit and school will survive with a smaller budget. Harvard is doing the same thing.

You understand how big Harvard's endowment is, right? It might be dwindling these days, given the assault on academic freedom by Trump and his followers of the American fascist party, but it's still HUGE. Also, a smaller budget means fewer teachers, fewer field trips, fewer everything.

That's ok. If families have to live within their means why not schools?

Your comment reflects that you have NO idea how independent schools work.