Context: Why tiered tuition? There are a few reasons:
1. Equity amid Increased Expenses. The first is that we need to keep pace with our expenses. We have annual rent increases built into our lease agreement, increasing cost of living expenses, and a highly qualified teaching staff that we want to retain and fairly compensate. However, rather than raise tuition for all families, this would allow us to keep our tuition flat for some families - and increase scholarship funds. If we do need to raise tuition in the future for all families, we could expect more moderate increases for those earning less and more aggressive increases for those earning more. In short, we'd ask families that can pay more to do so. We see this as in keeping with the spirit of equity, inclusion, and community that are core to our Co-op mission.
2. Taking Some Pressure off of Fundraising. We've typically relied on fundraising to close the gap in our expenses. As our expenses have increased, our fundraising has also expanded. While fundraising will always be a part of the picture, added revenue through tiered tuition would take some pressure off of our Fundraising Chair, Fundraising Committee, and Alki families. After all, fundraising can be incredibly hard work and is led by capable and caring, but busy-with-life volunteers.
3. Ensuring the Ongoing Resilience of the Organization. As we saw during the pandemic, we do occasionally have dips in enrollment or other factors that impact our finances. This will shore up our ability to bring in funds, allow us to make investments in our teachers and programming, and offer more scholarships. This will also safeguard our ability to keep our financial reserves - or savings - strong.
