School ask for bank/credit card statements for scholarship

amother

Jean

Sun, May 15 2022, 1:07 pm

My child’s school asks for tax documents, not statements. But they also ask for details about our expenses- healthcare, car, mortgage, vacations, cleaning help, camp… And they say that if the expenses are more than the income stated on your tax documents, your application will be tossed without consideration.
It’s not foolproof but it is one way to help ensure parents aren’t lying about their income.

amother

Anemone

Sun, May 15 2022, 1:16 pm

amother [ Ruby ] wrote:

It's not about integrity. It's about a feeling of responsibility that would lead schools to think twice before spending a dollar or asking parents for a dollar. That same feeling they expect parents to have before they buy their kids pizza on Rosh Chodesh because "the money could be used to pay tuition."

Very few schools have much information on their 990. The ones that do bring up more questions than answers. One large school that I looked at (years ago) had a very clear profit of several million dollars a year on their 990. But IRL they are well-known for paying their teachers many months late.

As someone who has been very close to these decisions, I know the school I was involved with always paid on time and the president of the school board often said that if they were left with a penny at the end of the year, they would have to ask the parents mechila for overcharging.

I obviously can't speak for everyone, but such schools exist.

amother

Ruby

Sun, May 15 2022, 1:27 pm

amother [ Anemone ] wrote:

I was a secretary in a school that was very responsible with finances and I can attest that the tuition they charged was the amount that would cover their expenses and no more.

But even with them, I can't say they were thinking twice about every dollar spent.

amother

Amaryllis

Sun, May 15 2022, 2:35 pm

amother [ Anemone ] wrote:

Of course you should have access to the school budget. You're the customer.

Not for profit institutions have to file a form 990 with the IRS. It's public, so you can see it. Look up the school on Guidestar or Charity Navigator.(Some schools will avoid this by registering not as a school but as a house of worship. That doesn't necessarily mean they are hiding anything, but it could be a red flag.)

You'll be able to see a rough outline of the school's spending. You won't see individual employee salaries. Bear in mind that the very program/employee/ facility you think is a total waste of money is exactly what some other parent considers the greatest thing since sliced bread. School boards juggle competing values and can't make everyone happy all the time. But if they have integrity, they're not wasting your money. And if they don't have integrity, maybe you shouldn't be entrusting them with the chinuch of your children.

My children's school does not post on guidestar. And yes I do believe it is because they want to hide things.

amother

Acacia

Sun, May 15 2022, 3:32 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Fair enough, but for once I'd like schools to explain and justify (especially schools that charge 25k+ in tuition) why it's so expensive.

It's very easy for them to talk about the parent body and who they think is being honest. But full stop- can we for ONCE find out what the principal is making? How many relatives are hired? Is the school genuinely being run in a way where they are trying to mitigate expenses or are they hiring people for unnecessary positions because money is free?

I would imagine there is a correlation between schools with high tuition and more professionally run organizations with less nepotism. That is because at that tuition level parents would be demanding teachers with very strong qualifications as well as programs and coursework that was high level p. That kind of stuff costs money and the parents who send kids to that kind of school would not accept teachers without good credentials and well equipped physical classrooms.