DECEMBER 02
Building Our Community: A Message from the President We are off to a great start this year, and we welcome all of our new and returning families. One of Harker’s goals this year is to provide parents with more information about school policies, procedures and events. To assist in accomplishing these objectives, we will publish answers to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) in our newsletter and on the Parent Home Page of our Web site beginning with this issue. We sincerely hope you find this useful and informative, and we encourage you to contact us with any questions you may have. We wish all of you a great year!
—Howard Nichols, President howardn@harker.org
What kind of tuition increase can I expect for the 2003-04 school year?
Q
providing a top quality A While education for your child is our primar y mission, our secondary one is to do so at the most reasonable tuition fee possible. Particularly due to the current economic situation, we plan to keep our costs as low as possible without cutting programming or staff. We are currently evaluating our expenses schoolwide and hope to keep the tuition increase to around 4-5% for next year. Our aim is to cut corners on “extras” so as not to impact the quality of our programming and services for students and parents. We know that Harker families consider quality education important, but we also understand that the pinch of a tougher economy sends us back to our budgets to make sure we’re all doing the best we can with the funds we have. Rest assured that we are doing everything we can in each and every division at Harker to keep our expenses down. Interestingly enough, Harker is actually charging less in tuition than we should given the scope of our programming compared to other schools in our area. While this doesn’t take away the pinch of the current economic situation, it is a notable achievement, and we intend to continue to provide outstanding programming to our families at the best price possible.
Q
What factors go into determining Harker’s tuition?
Quality faculty, broad program offerings and small class sizes are hallmarks of a Harker education and proven winners in the success of our students. They are also expensive to provide. The majority of your tuition goes to paying the salaries of our teachers. It is in the best interests of our students to recruit and retain the
A
Continued on other side
2002-03 Projected Revenue & Expenses Revenue Tuition Summer Tuition Endowment Additional Fees & Revenue
$29,380,580 $ 2,458,000 $ 0 $ 3,141,834
Student Fees, Auxiliary Programs, Optional Programs & Investment Revenue
Annual Giving
$ 1,250,000 Total Revenue
9% Additional Revenue
$36,230,414
3% Annual Giving 81% Tuition
7% Summer Tuition
Expenses Salaries & Staff-Related Expenses
$25,460,016
Salaries, Benefits, Recruitment & Professional Development
Student Programs, Supplies & Equipment
$ 4,050,040
Academic Expenses, Activity Expenses, (Examples of these items on other side) Scholarships, Depreciation of Equipment/Assets, Optional Programs Expense
Student & Parent Services
$ 1,837,389
Food Service, Security, Transportation, Infirmary, Admissions, Community Relations, Technology, Communications, College Counseling, Counseling
Operations & Mortgage
$ 4,882,969
Facilities/Grounds & Facilities Depreciation, Marketing/Communications, Development, Human Resources, Legal & Accounting, General Administrative, Tax, Insurance & Utilities, Mortgage & Lease Expense & Reserves, Auxiliary Expenses
Total Expenses $36,230,414 Includes In-Kind Gifts
highest caliber faculty possible, while also placing a priority on paying them salaries that will allow them to live with dignity in a region that has one of the highest costs of living in the country.
Academic Expenses
Student Activities • Clubs Ambassadors Amnesty International Animation Art Biology Book Chess Science Dance Speech & Debate Drama Future Business Leaders Game GSA H.E.A.R.T. (environment) International JCL JETS Key Club Literary Magazine Newspaper National Honor Society Robotics Spirit Web Yearbook • Community Service • Field Trips • Assemblies • Student Council • Mentoring Program • School Dances • Aquatics • After-School Recreation • Recreation Equipment • Recreation Supplies • Awards • Multicultural Week • Athletics Tournaments Referees Facility Rental Transportation Supplies Equipment
To help you understand the budget challenges we face together as we continue to provide a quality education to our children, we’d like to share our tuition setting and budget process with you.
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• Classroom Supplies • Classroom Equipment • Departments English Math Science History Foreign Language Computer Science Fine Arts PE & Family Life Ed. Communications Performing Arts Music Orchestra Band Show Choir Bel Canto Harmonics • Performances Grade 1 Show Grade2/3 Show Grade 6 Show Library Show Picnic Show Grandparents’ Day Show Dance Productions Fall Drama Production Spring Musical Conservatory Show • Educational Contests • Character Counts • Gender Equity • Community Service • Teacher Resources • Audiovisual Equipment • Summer School Supplies
Harker’s fiscal year is from June 1 to May 31, and each fall faculty and staff members make their requests for funding by submitting a department budget and proposal outline to the administration. Examples of the type of items and activities that are included in these funding requests from the teachers are in the column to the left. The requests are reviewed and the administration determines what will be included in the general operating budget, which is based upon enrollment, tuition and charitable giving projections. The general operating budget is then presented to the trustees for approval.
What do I do if my e-mail goes down and I think I've missed some e-mails from Harker?
What’s the best way for me to communicate with the school?
Q
If you have a question or concern, e-mails are the best mode of communication with teachers so class time isn't interrupted. You can also feel free to contact the department head or division head. Teachers usually handle their e-mails during their prep periods, so they will reply to your e-mail as soon as they possibly can. If you are worried about how your child is dong, we assure you that if teachers are concerned about the progress your child is making, they will contact you.
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It is our goal for each child to be successful at Harker. When we are working together with a family on an issue that concerns them, they invariably express relief that they communicated their concerns to us. Some say they were worried about communicating with us about a sensitive issue for fear that it would result in some negative outcome for their child. Unfortunately, some unburden themselves
on other Harker families who are not in a position to help solve the problem and may innocently offer incorrect information. The administration believes that open and respectful lines of communication between parents, teachers and the administrators are essential in helping each child succeed, and we encourage parents to communicate with the school if they have concerns, ideas or suggestions they wish to share. We have a “Who To Contact” list of names, responsibilities and e-mail links on our Parent Home Page (username: parents, password: 1893) to help you find the right person to contact with questions, large or small. You can also contact the front desk at either campus, and they will help you find the appropriate Harker staff member to help you. If you have questions or suggestions about our parent communications programs, please contact Pam Dickinson, director of communications, at pamd@harker.org.
Q
post any broadcast A We e-mails sent to parents each day on our Parent Home Page under a link in the top left that says E-MAILS. We separate them by division, so you can easily check there for what you may have missed.
Sometimes I get several pieces of mail from Harker on the same day. Isn’t there a better way?
How We Invest in the Harker Student Body 11% Student Programs …to stimulate the mind and broaden horizons
5% Student & Parent Services
Q
sure there is, and A We’re we're currently working on it schoolwide. Now that we have a monthly mailing with the newsletter and calendar, we are encouraging all departments to include their mailing with this monthly mailing to conserve on envelopes and postage. We are also working on reducing the duplication that some families experience with more than one child at Harker, and we will continue to use e-mail and our extensive Web site to provide information to our families. Our primary communications goal is to ensure that our parents have the information they need, when they need it, and wherever possible, we'll consolidate to reduce duplication and expenses.
71% Salaries
…to help each child soar
…because having outstanding teachers is really the heart of the matter
13% Operations …to provide a solid foundation