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Saturday, March 30, 2013

Hawaii Economy – Cost of Private School Education Increases


Approximately 20 percent of all Hawaii’s school-age children are taught at private schools. This is nearly double that of the national average. Over the past few years, private schools across the islands have tried to keep their tuition costs lower to help families struggling with the recent recession. However, in a new survey, most of state’s private schools plan to increase their tuition cost for the 2013-2014 school year by between 3 to 6 percent.
Cathy Lee Chong, the spokeswoman for Iolani School, stated, “The cost of running a school is very expensive, with our most important resource being our faculty and people and their professional development. We try very hard to be sensitive to parents and the sacrifices they make to send their children to our school, and the board takes any changes in tuition very seriously.” Iolani will increase their tuition to $18,900 for all grade levels, or a 6 percent increase from the current school year.
Punahou Schools’ vice president and treasurer, John Field, stated, “We tried to limit the increase to the bare minimum with rising health care and insurance costs as well as faculty and staff salaries. We appreciate the belief that our families have in Punahou School’s pledge to do our best to control tuition increases. At the same time, we are very committed to providing a broad and impressive program to all of our students.” Punahou Schools will cost $19,950 for all grade levels, or about a 4 percent increase from the current school year.
At a glance, Mid-Pacific Institute will increase their tuition by 4 percent to $19,050 per year. La Pietra-Hawaii School for Girls will have their tuition increase by $17,600 or a 3 percent increase. Damien Memorial School will raise their tuition by 4.5 percent to $11,375 per year. Saint Francis School will increase their tuition to $10,000 for high school students. Despite these tuition increases, private schools across the state note that they have very high re-enrollment and demand for new admissions continue to remain strong.
Source: Honolulu Star Advertiser, 3-30-2013, www.staradvertiser.com
Posted by Jeff Uyemura-Reyes, Broker-in-Charge, Realtor®
Global Executive Realty, LLC
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