Are There Places Unfilled?
Wednesday July 15, 2009
Do you know of private schools in your area which have openings for fall 2009? I'd like to do my bit by listing schools which still have places. My experience tells me that there are still parents looking for a place for their child. It happens for all kinds of very good reasons, not the least of which is a move or transfer. Please email me privately if you know of any openings. I will check with the school and confirm the details and post a list of openings.
Schools should NEVER have empty seats.
I worked at a boarding school, and was unable to convince my bosses of this.
1. Most of the kids came to our school through word of mouth from other parents. Having a non-paying student this year may mean a paying student next year.
2. In a school almost all of the costs are fixed. If your class size is 15, they you have paid for the teacher whether it has 15 or it has 6. You still need a cook, and accountant, a receptionist.
So the marginal cost of the extra student is:
* The food he eats. We figured $6-8 per day.
* The increase in hot water use. Tiny.
* The increase in heating. (Doors are open and shut more often.) Tiny.
3. A full school is more ‘credible’ When a school is half empty with declining enrolment, parents wonder if there is something wrong.
Administering this can be tricky. In Canada a bursary is a taxable benefit. Many parents may not be able to pay the tax on the bursary if itw as done that way. It may be possible to make a case using the credibility argument that the difference between normal tuition and the marginal cost of a student is an advertising expense.