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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I just want to encourage the families of SSFS children to be cautious when signing on at a new school.

A few schools mentioned here are known to be in as precarious a financial position as Sandy Springs itself.  For sure, attracting enough new full-pay students from SSFS might help them to stabilize, even if temporarily.  But it's also possible that families who choose badly might just have to go through this twice. That's not fair to the children.

Do your due diligence.  Schools can't support themselves on tuition alone.  Ask about the size of the endowment, debt, the annual giving program, and auxiliary income.  How many students are receiving financial aid?  A school that has to discount tuition for more than a third of their students is untenable.  [/quote]

I encourage everyone to do their due diligence as well. Private schools are often non-profits (though not all of them are, steer clear of the for profit ones). If they are a non-profit and granted 501(c)(3) status they’re required to publicly file a Form 990. You can search each private school on ProPublica.

SSFS does not have a publicly available form 990, as most religious institutions do not. So the financial situation was able to fly under the radar for so long. Some schools, as you will see, will operate on small losses, which is normal. Or on small margins. But the SSFS was incredibly mismanaged, as we all now know. There’s no excuse; grossly mismanaged. From what I can see in the publicly filed 990s, I don’t see other schools listed here like that at all.

Non-religious private schools are far more transparent, they’re required to be. They have state of the school meetings, the whole school is part of the corporation, the community understands the health of the school.

If you’re interested in a private school listed here, feel free to tour and ask these questions, you will get honest answers as the school is required to be honest. Reach out to friends or community members of that school, and you’ll hear the same thing. It’s very different at non-religious schools.

There’s a certain amount of fear mongering here about the health of private schools (especially when people are listing specific schools), and given the news, I understand, but do some homework before casting accusations.

I feel for the families of SSFS and I hope you all land on your feet at schools that are warm and welcoming. [/quote]

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