Tuition for children of staff

amother

Burgundy

Tue, Dec 04 2018, 8:48 am

My children’s principal wants me as a principal’s assistant/secretary.

I was wondering how much I can ask for (it’s a heavy workload). And do staff’s children generally get free tuition? If so, is that besides for their salaries or is tuition free only when it’s deducted from the salary?

I’ll be giving my all to this job so want it to be worthwhile but at the same time I don’t want to come across as unrealistic.

Thank you.

amother

Tangerine

Tue, Dec 04 2018, 8:53 am

I think it depends on the institution, and their abilities.

A preschool that's licensed and doesn't have a lot of funding but has to follow a ton of regulation is more likely to be drowning in debt and struggling to pay staff.

I also think that one problem that schools face is when someone starts the year/month working and gets a tuition discount/free, but then stops working. It's harder to chase after someone to collect tuition at that point. (speaking from personal experience Sad

)

amother

Seashell

Tue, Dec 04 2018, 8:54 am

Never worked for my kids' school, but I would say no way in heck are you getting free tuition on top of a regular salary. Depending on the school's policy, they may deduct tuition from your paycheck, but I'm not sure that is really legal. After all, so many parents work/teach in the school, and the school needs to pay their own taxes based on the salaries.

amother

Maroon

Tue, Dec 04 2018, 8:55 am

Totally depends on the school and the position.
In my school, if you work a certain amount of hours per week, you get an automatic 50% reduction on tuition, without dealing with scholarships.

amother

Burgundy

Tue, Dec 04 2018, 8:56 am

amother wrote:

)

I hear what you’re saying. We’ve actually always been on time with tuition.

The school is a small elementary school but from what I hear, the staff gets paid nicely and on time.

The principal said they’ll make it worth my while. Just not sure how much I can push it.

amother

Burgundy

Tue, Dec 04 2018, 8:57 am

amother wrote:

Isn’t it legal to “work it off”?

amother

Maroon

Tue, Dec 04 2018, 8:59 am

Speak to a non-yentish staff member and try to see if you can figure out what the school is willing to give.
Be prepared, though, that many schools don't allow staff to discuss pay, and coworkers might tell you that.
Like I said, my school is very open about tuition reduction for staff. It's in the staff handbook with all the info like PTO Etc.

amother

Slategray

Tue, Dec 04 2018, 9:01 am

At my kid’s school they give a 5k credit per child to parents who work full time for kids in pre-1a - 8 (tuition is about 12k). If you work part time or have kids in ecd it’s 2500 credit for child

amother

Maroon

Tue, Dec 04 2018, 9:02 am

amother wrote:

Isn’t it legal to “work it off”?

According to my school, no.
Maybe it varies by city/state.

amother

Orchid

Tue, Dec 04 2018, 9:03 am

I know someone in a similar position to you. I believe she gets a "discount" plus tuition comes off her paycheck pretax. she said that if you figure how much she would have had to pay otherwise she is making a very nice salary.

Personally I rather employees just get paid a salary so that employees with lass children aren't getting paid less but just telling you what I have seen in real life.

amother

Burgundy

Tue, Dec 04 2018, 9:04 am

amother wrote:

I don’t know of any staff member there who has children in the school. Also, no one else has this position. Scratching Head

amother

Seashell

Tue, Dec 04 2018, 9:05 am

In the elementary school in my community, there was a time when much more than half of the teachers and aides had children attending the school. I heard rumors that the tuitions were deducted from their salaries, but for the majority, that would mean they would be hardly taking home any pay. How can a school properly file payroll taxes for the staff if at the end of the day they are hardly paying any salaries? It's not my business and didn't affect me but it always seemed fishy.

amother

Maroon

Tue, Dec 04 2018, 9:08 am

Since you have no one to ask regarding tuition, you'll find out yourself at the meeting.

Maybe start a new thread asking about administrative assistant salaries in schools.

amother

Gold

Tue, Dec 04 2018, 9:18 am

We get a percentage off our tuition because my husband works in my kid's school. However, it's not much different than the scholarship we were assessed with when my husband worked in a different school. In other words, the fact that he teaches there doesn't make all that much of a difference, as we'd be eligible for a similar reduction by virtue of making a low (Rebbe) salary.

amother

Firebrick

Tue, Dec 04 2018, 9:24 am

Over here it generally depends on your family income. Of your husband's making decent than you won't qualify for less tution. If you guys aren't making a lot you negotiate tuition reduction just as any low income family would just with less hassle.

amother

Burgundy

Tue, Dec 04 2018, 10:41 am

justmarried:) wrote:

Why don’t you see what they offer you

The principal asked me what I want... I said I’ll get back to him.

amother

Beige

Tue, Dec 04 2018, 2:15 pm

You can ask for about 30% of your income to go towards tuition as a benefit. Its a win win since the school saves on taxes as well.
The reason the teaching staff receives a discount is because they generally get paid too little as it is compared to normal jobs they could be doing.
Don't work without bringing home an actual paycheck after tuition is paid

amother

Silver

Tue, Dec 04 2018, 2:34 pm

Every school is different, in general, Teachers in private struggling Frum schools get low salaries compared to the rest of the world. I work as an admin assistant, I get a salary unrelated to my 40% tuition discount. Wealthy and struggling staff get same amount.
I only have one kid left in school, so that perk is worth less now than it was in the past. School allows staff to apply for scholarships just like anyone else.

I definitely would get paid more for same job in a Proffesional setting, but the tuition perk and working on same schedule as kids has been worth it for me. I also like the energy in a school, never boring!
Not having to take vacation days for Yom tov, summer breaks is worth a lot too.