Isle private school costs to continue steep rise
Inflation is cited for the increases that could add nearly $1,000 to annual tuitions
Hawaii's major private schools will raise tuition next year at the same high growth rates of recent years and say there's no end in sight to the steep trajectory, according to a Star-Bulletin survey of several schools.
School officials blamed a host of persistent inflationary pressures for the increases, which at some schools will top 7 percent and add nearly $1,000 to the annual bill.
MOST EXPENSIVE PRIVATE SCHOOLS
Projected tuition for Hawaii private schools in 2006-07.
Punahou School - $14,725* (6.9% increase from last year)
Mid-Pacific Institute - $13,950 (7.6%)
Iolani School - $13,100 (7.4%)
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Punahou School will charge $14,725, an increase of $950, or 6.9 percent, in the 2006-07 school year, while Mid-Pacific Institute's tuition will grow by $980, or 7.6 percent, to $13,950.
Iolani School rises $900 to $13,100, up 7.4 percent.
The nonprofit institutions say they remain caught in a perfect storm of tuition-inflating factors, including steady increases in the costs of medical benefits and energy.
They noted particular pressure to offer increasingly competitive salary and benefits packages amid a nationwide shortage of teachers and recent pay raises for unionized state public school teachers.
"We've been piggybacking for some time now on the low pay teachers have been getting, but that's changing, so absolutely tuition has to grow," said Adrian Allan, headmaster of Le Jardin Windward Academy, which is raising tuition across its various grade levels by 8 percent, highest of those surveyed.
Tuition hikes in recent years have tended toward the 5 percent to 6 percent range on the high end, already a high rate historically. Tuition generally does not include other required expenses and fees that can add $1,000 or more.
Though tuition figures for Hawaii Preparatory Academy were not available in time for this report, the Big Island school should retain its position as the priciest mainstream private school in the state. It currently charges $15,000 a year for high school, though its lower grades cost less than Punahou, Iolani and Mid-Pacific.
The spiraling costs are not unique to Hawaii. Private-school tuitions nationwide also have grown at double the inflation rate over the past two decades and now stand at an average of $16,000, according to the National Association of Independent Schools.
"When you look at schools on the mainland, tuition is a true bargain here," said Le Jardin's Allan.
That view seems to be shared. Despite the cost increases, many Hawaii schools are still swamped with applicants. Likewise, attrition rates -- the number of students who leave a school for whatever reason -- also haven't budged in years, officials from surveyed schools said, remaining at or below national averages.
Until these factors change, tuition will keep soaring, said Patrick Bassett, president of the NAIS.
"The question nationwide is: Is there a price break point? But in Honolulu's case, there are too few independent schools to meet demand and always somebody willing to pay, so there's really no restraint on how high it can go," Bassett said.
For parents like Ricky Tucay, the yearly markups are a force of nature that must be accepted and dealt with.
With one child at Iolani and another at a smaller school, the Air National Guard recruiter's tuition costs are $18,000 this year.
To make ends meet, Tucay used a home equity credit line to consolidate all his debts. His wife dropped her own business to work for someone else for the income stability.
"It forces you to get creative," Tucay said.
The pressure will ease when his eldest son graduates from Iolani this year. But though he admits Iolani may soon be out of reach, Tucay plans to put two younger children through private school also, possibly retiring from the Air National Guard to take on a couple of jobs.
"It was worth it and something I would do again," said Tucay, a product of Waianae High School. "It's just that normal progression; you want to give your kids more than what your parents gave you."
Several schools said they've increased financial aid budgets by equal or greater percentages than tuition in recent years, and nearly all surveyed have plans to offer still more to ease the growing burden.
A recent survey of 22 schools by the Hawaii Association of Independent Schools found that 24 percent of local private school students received financial aid awards averaging $4,056 this year.
However, several school officials said that even if overall financial aid budgets were to grow at the same percentage rate as tuition, that still leaves most aid recipients paying more over time.
The burden is being felt not only by parents but by the extended family, said Brother Greg O'Donnell, president of Damien Memorial School.
"What we're seeing is the education bill being spread out among the extended ohana," he said. "More and more, the grandma, grandpa, aunty and uncle are pitching in, too, because the parents can't do it by themselves."
Iolani is seeing more middle-class families seeking financial aid, particularly those with more than one child in private school, said spokeswoman Cathy Lee Chong.
The NAIS' Bassett said there is growing concern nationally that eventually none but the most wealthy will be able to afford a private school education, a worry echoed by school officials here.
"That's always a fear -- that we will become less accessible to a constituency that currently attends and that the character of our school will change," said Iolani Headmaster Val Iwashita.
Many schools say they are eyeing new fundraising avenues. But those are not expected to have a real impact on tuition under a business model in which most donations go toward physical improvements at schools, leaving tuition as the primary funding source for operational expenses.
"I don't believe there's a way to stop (tuition) from increasing" under present conditions, said Joe Rice, president of Mid-Pacific.
RISING COSTS OF PRIVATE SCHOOLS
Tuition at most major private schools in Hawaii will continue to grow in excess of 6 percent in the next school year.
SCHOOL |
2006-07
|
2005-06
|
INCREASE
|
Punahou School |
Grades K-12 |
$14,725
|
$13,775
|
6.9%
|
Mid-Pacific Institute |
Grades K-12 |
$13,950
|
$12,970
|
7.6%
|
Iolani School |
Grades K-12 |
$13,100
|
$12,200
|
7.4%
|
Le Jardin Windward Oahu Academy |
Grades 9-12 |
$11,630
|
$10,760
|
8.1%
|
Grades K-8 |
$11,450
|
$10,600
|
8.0%
|
Pre-K |
$7,300
|
$6,750
|
8.1%
|
St. Andrew's Priory |
Grades 6-12* |
$11,110
|
$10,480
|
6.0%
|
Grades K-5 |
$10,740
|
$10,130
|
6.0%
|
Maryknoll School |
Grades 9-12 |
$10,800
|
$10,100
|
6.9%
|
Grades 6-8 |
$10,100
|
$9,500
|
6.3%
|
Pre-K to Grade 5 |
$9,600
|
$9,100
|
5.5%
|
Hawaii Baptist Academy |
Grades 7-12 |
$9,500
|
$9,150
|
3.8%
|
Grades K-6 |
$9,150
|
$8,750
|
4.6%
|
Saint Louis School |
Grades 9-12 |
$9,200
|
$8,610
|
6.9%
|
Grades 7-8 |
$8,600
|
$8,085
|
6.4%
|
Grades 6 |
$6,800
|
$6,800
|
--
|
Grades 4-5 |
$6,500
|
$6,090
|
6.7%
|
Sacred Hearts Academy |
Grades 9-12 |
$8,540
|
$8,060
|
6.0%
|
Grades 7-8 |
$7,285
|
$6,855
|
6.3%
|
Grades K-6 |
$6,280
|
$5,955
|
5.5%
|
Damien Memorial School** |
Grades 9-12 |
$7,875
|
$7,400
|
6.4%
|
Grades 7-8 |
$6,925
|
$6,450
|
7.4%
|
Hanalani Schools |
Grades 7-12 |
$6,800
|
$6,400
|
6.3%
|
Grades K-6 |
$6,300
|
$5,900
|
6.8%
|
Pre-K |
$6,100
|
$5,700
|
7.0%
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*St. Andrew's Priory sixth-graders pay the upper-school tuition for the first time beginning in 2006-07.
**Damien's tuition is yet to be approved by the school's board.
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CORRECTION
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
CORRECTION_TEXT_GOES_HERE
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