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Tuition
going up at
private schools

The costs will rise as much
as 7.6%; administrators say
teacher salaries and computer
technology are factors

By Leila Fujimori
Star-Bulletin

Isle parents will have to dig deeper into their pockets to send their children to private schools this fall, as tuition costs will rise as much as 7.6 percent.

"The largest single cost factor is salaries and benefits -- 70 percent of the budget," said Val Iwashita, headmaster of Iolani School.

Steve Bean, headmaster of St. Andrew's Priory School for Girls, said "the cost of living is passed right on to teachers' salaries." Salaries of private-school teachers, however, generally fall below those of public-school teachers, Bean said.

Schools have been sending notification letters this month to parents regarding the increases. Within the next few weeks, letters of acceptance for admission will go out.

St. Francis School was the exception to rising tuitions; it kept costs at the same level for the fall. Kamehameha Schools' tuition fees, which have not gone up in nine years, are being evaluated, and any decision to increase tuition will be made within the next two months, a spokesman said.

Another factor in the rising cost of education has been the cost of computer technology. Mid-Pacific Institute has increased its budget to outfit classrooms and to equip teachers and support staff with computers, finance director Pat Garvey said.

But that's just a fraction of the cost. Labor costs associated with campus-wide networking of the computer systems have greatly increased operational expenses, Garvey said.

At Punahou School, a new program, which adds to tuition costs, is to provide all fourth-graders with laptop computers, said vice president Judy Dawson.

Increasing costs are higher than actual tuition increases, Iolani's Iwashita said.

The school endowment funds and other income take care of 32 percent of educational costs for each student.

Underwriting the actual cost of education varies by institution. Punahou underwrites 12 to 15 percent of education costs, while at Kamehameha Schools it is 95 percent. Tuition takes care of the remainder.