Silicon Valley private schools prep for funding fallout, Private schools in Silicon Valley may take extra measures in January so that the turbulent economy doesn’t take too much of a toll on operations for the 2009-10 academic year.
These private grade schools and high schools have watched endowments shrink by nearly one-third, yet enrollments have held steady and fundraising efforts have been adequate. However, the last part is largely because enrollment decisions and fundraisers for the current academic year have already taken place.
“We follow the college model, where students and parents make decisions on enrollment during the spring and early summer,” said Myra McGovern, spokeswoman for the National Association of Independent Schools, a Washington, D.C., organization representing 1,300 schools nationwide with 583,000 students. “By the time the stock market began to go downhill, most people had paid tuition for the (2008-09) year.”
Auction events in the winter and spring serve as the major fundraisers for these institutions. Although no one can say for sure how the recession will affect these efforts, many private schools in the valley are turning their eye toward cost-saving measures.
Endowments down, inquiries up
McGovern said this year many of her members’ schools have reported their endowments have shrunk by an average of 20 percent to 30 percent as the value of investments has dropped. James McManus, executive director of the California Association of Independent Schools in Santa Monica, said endowment levels have decreased by a similar amount among his 190 member schools, mirroring what has happened to the endowments of colleges and universities.
The incredible shrinking endowment has affected exclusive institutions such as Palo Alto’s Castilleja School, which offers a college-preparatory curriculum to 415 girls in grades six through 12 for a yearly tuition of $30,000. However, even though the endowment that provides 12 percent of its annual operating budget has grown smaller, school officials raised $37 million during a multiyear fundraising campaign geared toward celebrating the institution’s centennial year in 2007.
These private grade schools and high schools have watched endowments shrink by nearly one-third, yet enrollments have held steady and fundraising efforts have been adequate. However, the last part is largely because enrollment decisions and fundraisers for the current academic year have already taken place.
“We follow the college model, where students and parents make decisions on enrollment during the spring and early summer,” said Myra McGovern, spokeswoman for the National Association of Independent Schools, a Washington, D.C., organization representing 1,300 schools nationwide with 583,000 students. “By the time the stock market began to go downhill, most people had paid tuition for the (2008-09) year.”
Auction events in the winter and spring serve as the major fundraisers for these institutions. Although no one can say for sure how the recession will affect these efforts, many private schools in the valley are turning their eye toward cost-saving measures.
Endowments down, inquiries up
McGovern said this year many of her members’ schools have reported their endowments have shrunk by an average of 20 percent to 30 percent as the value of investments has dropped. James McManus, executive director of the California Association of Independent Schools in Santa Monica, said endowment levels have decreased by a similar amount among his 190 member schools, mirroring what has happened to the endowments of colleges and universities.
The incredible shrinking endowment has affected exclusive institutions such as Palo Alto’s Castilleja School, which offers a college-preparatory curriculum to 415 girls in grades six through 12 for a yearly tuition of $30,000. However, even though the endowment that provides 12 percent of its annual operating budget has grown smaller, school officials raised $37 million during a multiyear fundraising campaign geared toward celebrating the institution’s centennial year in 2007.
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