Why is my yeshiva's day camp so expensive???

amother

Denim

Thu, May 28 2015, 12:20 pm

The yeshiva where I send my boys has a day camp in the summer. During the year, tuition works out to be approximately $1100 per month. For July and August the cost of camp is $2300, which is slightly more than the monthly cost of tuition. I'm thinking that the main expense to run the yeshiva during the year is paying the rebbe's and teachers. The camp counselors are teenagers that get a fraction of what the rebbe earns during the year. I realize that there are trips and possibly other expenses that only occur in the summer but this is not adding up to me. It seems a bit unfair. Thoughts?

rosenbal

Thu, May 28 2015, 12:25 pm

Since camp is optional, they are using this as a money making opportunity for the yeshiva. Camps run right, can be very profitable and as annoying and difficult as it is for us parents, it does make sense for them to do it.

Obviously not optional for working parents bUT then we have money coming in since we're working and if it's too much, we can always hire a sitter for all the kids together (I admit that's not ideal for older kids bit still doesn't make camp not optional.)

frimamom

Thu, May 28 2015, 1:07 pm

I don't know where you are located, but where I am sending it's 1500 for the summer. There's even a 200 discount for the people who applied before lag baomer

Rutabaga

Thu, May 28 2015, 1:31 pm

Camps are definitely run for profit, which hopefully the school isn't.

That being said, there are plenty of costs to running a camp. It costs $$$ to run a building, especially if there is air conditioning. It probably costs more then you realize to pay the staff even if there are mostly teens. If the camp has a pool on the grounds, that costs $$$ to maintain. Otherwise they're probably spending a fortune to bus the kids to swimming and other off campus activities.

It all adds up. Are they competitively priced with other camps in the area (not counting backyard camps)?

Raisin

Thu, May 28 2015, 2:22 pm

They are probably making a bit of profit on camp but losing money on tuition. I'm pretty sure it really costs more then $11000 to educate a child. And depending on how many trips the camp has weekly, camps can be quite expensive to run, more then school, since you need supplies and so on.

Camps need professionals to be in charge as well, not just teens.

amother

Brunette

Thu, May 28 2015, 3:40 pm

Rutabaga wrote:

Camps are definitely run for profit, which hopefully the school isn't.

I hope my school does make a profit.

amother

Goldenrod

Thu, May 28 2015, 3:51 pm

Since you're talking about salaries... Schools have one teacher for 30 kids, camp has 1 (teenage) counselor for 10 kids (do you have Jr counselors too?). so a teenager isn't so cheap when you compare 3 teens to one Rabbe

amother

Bisque

Thu, May 28 2015, 4:09 pm

I'm sending to the same school and camp and I'm actually pretty happy that the camp is around the same monthly amount as the school - some other camps are much more expensive and let's not even talk about sleep away camp - that's like $2500 a month or something like that.

Rutabaga

Thu, May 28 2015, 4:19 pm

amother wrote:

I hope my school does make a profit.

What do you mean?

Other than an in home day care, aren't schools normally non profit organizations? Yes, they pay salaries, but any "extra" money should be used for the students in some way.

seeker

Thu, May 28 2015, 6:34 pm

Boys' yeshiva camps, even day camps, usually hire rebbeim to learn with the boys for some time every day, including young boys. Not going to be as much as full-time school rebbeim but they aren't ONLY paying teenagers. There is other adult staff as well, again not with the same ratio as school but they do need to be accounted for. Then there are special supplies needed for campy activities that you don't need for school, sports equipment, craft supplies, baking, etc. A couple of trips - usually in school you pay for trips separately. And per month, there are more trips/crafts/activities/etc in camp than in school.

In sum, I would expect to pay about as much for day camp as for school, and a little more doesn't sound off either.

TwinsMommy

Thu, May 28 2015, 6:52 pm

if a camp is run by a non profit school , how does that work in terms of their 990 and other financials? just curious---- it SOUNDS like it shouldn't be legal to make a profit from the camp but obviously it is legal because plenty of schools do it.

groovy1224

Thu, May 28 2015, 7:22 pm

TwinsMommy wrote:

Non profit organizations are allowed to make profits. Being a not for profit doesn't mean you have to just break even.

boysrus

Thu, May 28 2015, 10:54 pm

btw, fwiw, my boys school has a camp,, but the camp is legally separate from the school. I know that because my husband once worked in the camp and asked them if they could just deduct his pay from our annual tuition for school and they said that they couldnt becuase it was nt legally connected, it was a different business altoghether.