How do you afford tuition?

gold21

Tue, May 23 2017, 3:50 pm

cnc wrote:

Chassidish schools don't give breaks because they either have insanely low tuition (One neighbor mentioned to me 120/ month.) Or they have a "name your own price". I know five people sending to the same school and they all pay different tuitions.
The very few Chassidish schools that have a higher tuition rate do give breaks.

Although getting a tuition break, haggling over the price and naming your own price are all the same thing to me.

I went back and noted that at the bottom of my post after I posted initially

mommy3b2c

Tue, May 23 2017, 3:57 pm

cnc wrote:

And are the people paying less considered as accepting charity?

amother

Gray

Tue, May 23 2017, 4:28 pm

mommy3b2c wrote:

And are the people paying less considered as accepting charity?

If I donate to a 'scholarship' fund at my school I think thats giving charity.

However- the opposite of giving charity is not receiving charity.

I'd frame it as; those who are given the opportunity to pay lower tuition are the beneficiaries of my donation.

mommy3b2c

Tue, May 23 2017, 4:32 pm

amother wrote:

Do you send to a school in my community? I understand that getting a tuition break in many communities is considered accepting charity. My point is that in my community it's NOT. Up to a certain point. If tuition is $12,000 and you pay 10,000, it's not considered charity. If you pay $2,000, then it is.

amother

Burgundy

Tue, May 23 2017, 4:38 pm

Why won't schools open their books? We should know where our tuition money is going. I know one school that didn't bother turning off lights or doing other cost saving measures. School administration gets a hugely inflated salary.
I think independent auditors should show us where the money goes, where it can be saved, what is needed.
I would be more willing to donate if I knew where things go...

amother

Coffee

Tue, May 23 2017, 4:38 pm

mommy3b2c wrote:

Honestly, I like your community. I'd happily pay between 6-7,000 a kid - I feel that is reasonable tuition. In my community, I get a scholarship - instead of paying around 25,000 for 2 kids, I pay "only" around 17,000, but I feel it is still a significant sum. So on one hand, I feel like I'm getting charity, but on the other hand I feel like it's still too much - I hate the feeling.

amother

Coffee

Tue, May 23 2017, 4:41 pm

amother wrote:

I second this. Schools are not like a regular business - they are made for the community - so if large parts of the community find it unaffordable, shouldn't schools try to make it more affordable in whatever way they can? The start of that is to open books.

amother

Green

Tue, May 23 2017, 4:47 pm

amother wrote:

If a school is a tax-exempt institution in the US, it has to open its books.

mommy3b2c

Tue, May 23 2017, 4:50 pm

amother wrote:

I can imagine it doesn't feel good to be taking charity. In my community it's not looked at like charity if you're not getting a huge break. That's my whole point. Tuition is about $12,000 and most people pay between $8,000-$10,000. Which is still a lot of money.

sky

Tue, May 23 2017, 5:05 pm

Our kids school gives choices similar to what mommy3b2c is saying (that no one believes)
Choice 1 and I'd assume most common: There is full tuition that you must pay.
Choice 2: The full cost of your child's education. It is always optional.
they are checkboxes on our application.
It is very hard to get a deduction beyond that.

[Personally if I was paying the amount in Choice 2 I would still choose choice 1, and then give the difference as a donation to the school so it is at least tax deductible]

mommy3b2c

Tue, May 23 2017, 5:23 pm

sky wrote:

Lol. No one ever believes me. I'm used to it😀

Hashem_Yaazor

Tue, May 23 2017, 5:50 pm

amother wrote:

Please don't think that moving to Ohio will solve your tuition problems. Contrary to popular opinion tuition is not free with vouchers. That is only for very poor families (think less than 200% poverty level). Vouchers might ease tuition a bit and is income based. But tuition is expensive to begin with...

I was going to say the same thing, until your last sentence.
Vouchers are NOT income based, for the most part.
If you live in an area where the public school your children will be assigned to, you qualify for $4650 voucher ($6000 high school) no matter your income level.
If you don't live in such an area, and you are 200% or below the federal poverty limit, you can get the same voucher, and that's where income based comes in.
The rest of tuition for that child is waived if you send in verification to the state to show you make that same threshold of income. But the school can still charge you fees, preschool tuition may be more, etc

It's DEFINITELY a help, don't get me wrong. But it's not a magical solution that you'll live happily ever after without spending a dime on your children's education Wink

Hashem_Yaazor

Tue, May 23 2017, 5:58 pm

amother wrote:

If a school is a tax-exempt institution in the US, it has to open its books.

Correct. If it's a non-profit, it has to file 990s (unless it's classified as a church -- but either way, I think it still has to have transparency to its members).

MagentaYenta

Tue, May 23 2017, 6:47 pm

jeweled wrote:

Where do you live?

Four of my children were educated in public schools in CA. One here in the PNW. When we were deciding to move we realized we would be an hour away from any significant Jewish community, consequently the school district and it's diversity (as well as academics) were very important.

I was educated in PS in NJ and the kids father was as educated in PS in CA.