school+finance

Notes from Kate Curtin Lindsey’s talk—1/28/10

School Survival Guide—Lessons Learned

--longest lasting recession since the 1920’s—lag on any substantial improvement --average parent income in independent schools--$250,000 --Accurately Forecasting the Financial Climate --no real recovery will come for 5 years --this is a crisis for schools—more requests for aid, more delinquent parents --drive increasing for charter schools, parochial schools, home-schooling --pool of students matriculating in college gradually decreasing from 2009 on --annual giving down 10%

--Assessing External Conditions --international applications (Korea, Japan) are down --schools must educate parents about making schools their number one charitable giving priority --schools must do an audit of classroom giving requests—parents get 60 requests per year independent of development office requests --Exercise: What would you do if your school’s enrollment shrank by 10%? 20%? 30%?  --market external programming and its value --marketing and branding will be the number one factor for future school success --Exercise: poll administrators, faculty, students, parents, alums 1) 6 words that come to mind to describe school     2) 2 characteristics that set the school apart 3) 10 words or less—school’s mission     --use this information to inform marketing and branding   --marketing strategies—print, video, wet   --schools can buy the IP address that puts the school’s website at the top of the page when a Google search is conducted

--Marketing & Branding --put in personnel handbook—work produced by employees of school is property of school --capitalize on areas of expertise

--Training Faculty & Students about Development --establish parent/student Senior Class Gift Committee --educate students about school budget

--Administrative Leadership --100 independent school heads are retiring annually --turnover for school headship averages every 5 years --transition planning—identify school’s Achilles heel; Legacy Report

--Personnel --in the USA, 24% of population is Hispanic; underrepresented minority in independent schools --Are schools user-friendly to constituents? --aim for faculty/staff diversity to mirror student population --be inclusive—there’s an entire subset of school employees that faculty often reflect a hierarchical attitude about (staff/maintenance) --be transparent—faculty and staff are very nervous these days --establish affinity groups—Faculty of Color, GSA, Faculty Parents, etc… --subsidize use of mass transit where available --balance benefits where faculty are—childcare, retirement, housing, sabbatical --provide legal resources --health clubs, financial counseling, 5 Wishes (instructions for elderly, incapacitated and end-of-life decisions) --computer loan programs --open and honest discussions about school’s budget and goals for compensation --in-service days that are not curriculum related (understanding stock market/ investing; retirement planning; wills; 529’s and college financing, etc…) --social events that celebrate faculty and staff --LISTEN: have an open-door policy

--Financial Modeling --personnel benefits (60-70% of school costs) --consolidate/eliminate programs (use Board for political cover) --share resources with other schools—specialists (counselors, etc…), language teachers, etc… --form a healthcare consortium (“The only way independent schools are going to survive mounting healthcare costs in the coming years is if they band together”) --Financial Aid—rising 10-15% annually --institute preference policy—siblings, current families, faculty, etc… --schools are beginning to phase out tuition remission --identify “hidden” costs—diagnostic testing, tutoring, other programs --physical plant—debt services and depreciation of facilities --technology should be 5% of budget—schools should band together for licensing agreements --auxiliary programs—after school, etc…

Random Take-away thoughts: --Use the competitive advantage of collaboration and consortium-building to mitigate looming financial challenges --Rule shift for staffing: from 4 sections to 65 students (may require 5 sections); 3 preps --have US faculty shadow LS faculty for a day --have faculty shadow students for a day --Early Out Plan for senior faculty: 1) offer final year’s salary spread out over 2-3 years; healthcare (addresses two greatest fears for faculty facing retirement/moving on)     2) provide a 90 day window where faculty can meet with financial planner (at school’s expense) 3) 2 years prior, establish rigorous evaluation mechanism with emphasis on growth     --faculty who take the offer are leaving under positive conditions; no lawsuits; can return regularly to share with school their new skills/avocations