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Features
marin academy
Think: state of the economy. Question: current operating systems. Create: new ways to run the school more sustainably.
The recession that began in late 2007 has caused the Marin Academy community to rethink the way it functions. The goal has been to retain all programs, students, and staff and reduce how much is spent on supplies. To avoid drastic cuts to staff benefits or opportunities for students, the school is focusing on raising more money and developing a more sustainable school. The school wants to preserve its modern approach to education and continue to foster a multicultural environment. “We wanted to not cut people and not cut programs,” said Mike Joyce, Chief Financial and Information Officer. To keep all faculty members and their benefits intact, the administration chose to lower salary increases for longstanding staff members. “Sometimes just having a job is a pretty good thing, even if you get a smaller salary increase than you’re accustomed to,” said Joyce. Another cost-cutting change alters the benefit package of part-time faculty to proportionally reflect how much time they work. This applies to staff members who work less than 75 percent of the time. The modification does not change the actual benefits the faculty member receives, only what percent of the coverage is paid for. Most public schools have faced shortages in government funding, but MA has not been affected in this manner because it is an independent school. However, the school did lose money from its endowment and investments. In the face of such losses, the struggle is finding ways to provide for all the students and teachers without cutting back on integral parts of the school. “The school has been run from a fiscally conservative point of view,” said Head of School, Travis Brownley, “We are being careful about our money.” Caution around spending has enabled the school to meet all of its budgets and this year the endowment seems to be recovering. Eco-consciousness also fuels the effort to spend less. To conserve resources, many teachers are not giving any paper handouts; instead they are testing blogs. Also, many assignments are turned in via e-mail. If they must be in hard copy, they are double sided, using half the paper. “The cost of a Marin Academy education isn’t covered completely by tuition,” said
the state of marin academy • Tuition was raised from $30,900 last year to $32,100 this year. • A “Here and Now” initiative has been launced to promote financial awareness and stability. • Benefit package practices for part time faculty have shifted to proportionally reflect the time they work. • The Annual Fund has still been receiving donations from families in numerous socio-economic levels. • This year saw an approximate 11% drop in applicants. An Admissions Department survey indicates this directly relates to the economy.
November
Educ Joyce. The tuition was raised this year from about $30,900 to $32,100. Although the tuition makes up 85 percent of the operating budget, the school depends on fundraisers and parent donations as well as student effort. In spite of the downturn and families’ need to be frugal, the Annual Fund has continued to receive donations from families in all socio-economic statuses. “Generally, educational institutions don’t see the big hit that a lot of other non-profit organizations do,” said Joyce. He explained that when the economy is good, people give to multiple causes they care about. In a recession, they don’t stop giving altogether, but instead consolidate funds and give to just one or two organizations. “We are probably intensifying our outreach efforts,” said Dan Babior, Director of Admissions & Financial Aid, “We really want people to know how interested we are in them considering us as a high school.” The number of applicants for the current school year dropped about 11 percent. Surveys sent out by the Admissions Department last year indicate that the drop is caused largely by the economic recession. The school predicted that the financial crisis would warrant more financial aid requests from current families, as well as from new applicants. “Our biggest challenge was families not on financial aid,” said Brownley, “Families had a reversal of fortune and our trying to help families out in that way.” Both the new Strategic Plan and a fundraising campaign called the “Here and Now Initiative” focus on increased financial awareness and stability. These measures call on parents as well as alumni to contribute financially to address the shortfalls in funds. Even with the economic downturn, the school was able to offer financial aid to more of the current families and still admit more new families who needed assistance. Although the community has felt the negative impact of the recession, it has forced the community to be more conscious of excessive spending. “I certainly see a different kind of awareness,” said Brownley, “Actually, a more realistic understanding too.” While the economic recession as a whole is a national issue, the cost of education is one aspect that hits closer to home. Efforts to preserve the programs at MA —and keep its spirit intact—may instill in this generation a sense of responsibility. “I think we are going to be holding the mirror up for a long time to come to see what lessons we have learned from this,” said Joyce.
bay area
The public education system in the Bay Area has been greatly impacted by the economic crisis. Since the recession began in late 2007, students and teachers alike have noticed a real change in their everyday classroom environment. Everything from class sizes, materials available, and extracurricular programs have been changed due to the governmental cuts. “Well, we have no paper!” Terra Linda High School sophomore Anna Van Winkle said. “[The paper] has to be double-sided and there’s a lot of e-mail.” Another drastic change is the class sizes at both middle and high schools. “There [are] twice as many students in every class,” Van Winkle said. “There [are] forty kids in my chem class.” Also, honors classes are no longer guaranteed to be smaller. “The class sizes are huge,” Judy Rogers, a Miller Creek Middle School sixth grade English and History teacher said. “Twenty-nine students in both of my classes, and those classrooms were made for 20 kids to be in; they’re small classrooms.” Programs such as peer tutoring, math help at lunch, fieldtrips, and bringing in speakers to talk to the kids have all been cut from Miller Creek. The English as a Second Language program (ESL) has also been removed from the Dixie District at the middle school level.