CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT FEE

Dear Parents,

Before the pandemic, we had been looking for buildings to relocate Merryhill School because overall the building and the portable classrooms were old. This facility was built in the 1950s. Many of you may not know, but we rent the land and the facility from the Milpitas Unified School District. The MUSD couldn’t put in much work to take care of our facility because their budget was limited. To maintain the school, we had to bring outside vendors to fix specific items for the 22 years that I have been at Merryhill School.

Before deciding to renovate, we had looked at many options to relocate Merryhill School. The options were limited in Milpitas because we wanted a facility with more outdoor space for the children. We wanted our school to be free of retail areas, buildings, and other industries.

There are many aspects of our current location that we appreciate. We appreciate having the field in the back of the school with the grass, trees, and the space for our PE teachers to do more outside activities and sports. The public park, Murphy Park, is also accessible for us to use. We love being in Milpitas and since most of our families live in this city, we want to stay local; however, the city of Milpitas does not have another location for us to use. We approached the school district about purchasing the land that Merryhill is currently occupying before the pandemic. Unfortunately, according to the city's deed, they cannot sell the property to a for-profit company.

With that being said, I want a better facility for all the children to grow up in. The building is falling apart, we need this renovation at Merryhill School.

I understand that the $800 is unsettling and the timing is not right. Please understand that when private schools go through any capital expenditure projects, some of the cost will be passed on to the parents. For this project, the company is paying for most of the expenses. However, to complete the renovation, we must pass 1/3 of the cost to parents. This is a typical practice in the private school industry. Most schools would add to the cost of the tuition, and some would do several fundraisers. In the end, if the money was not raised, they would ask parents to pay or add the fees to the tuition. We chose not to add the $800 to the tuition because it would continue to be part of our company's tuition increase every year.

Merryhill School is my second school in management. I was also part of a private high school in the Bay Area that built a new building. This practice was the same.

For the 22 years that I have been here, we did a lot of the internal renovations to the building that parents may not be aware of, and we did not ask parents to pay. Our operating budget was able to pay for those costs. This is the first time that we are asking parents to pay. As you are aware, everything has gone up in cost significantly.

What are the benefits for the children?

o Updated classrooms (new flooring, new paint, etc.)

o New playground structures with turf flooring o Remodeled bathrooms o More rooms for our middle school students o Shades

I understand and personally can relate to the cost that parents incur when their children attend a private school. My approach in managing a school is only to ask parents to pay what is needed. We provide a lot for our students to have a wonderful learning experience at Merryhill School. We will do it when we can manage, and our operating budget is healthy. We only want to burden parents when it is necessary, like now.

Thank you for your understanding. My staff and I are excited about this renovation and look forward to an updated facility for the 2023-2024 school year.

Warmest regards,

Quinn Letan Head of School

Payment Information

Tuition covers 43 weeks of the school year. Merryhill School provides parents different options to pay the tuition with the option of paying with a check (initial payment only), credit card or automatic withdrawal (required for monthly payment).

Payment Options: Tuition + Capital Fee + Other Required Fees

Annual Payment

▪ One payment due on June 30th o New Students

▪ One check payable to Merryhill School

▪ Credit Card (surcharge 2.35%) o Returning Students

▪ One check, ACH, or Credit Card (surcharge 2.35%)

Semi-Annual Payment

• Two payments: One payment due on June 30th and Second payment due on December 1st o New Students

▪ One check payable to Merryhill School

▪ Credit Card (surcharge 2.35%) o Returning Students

▪ One check, ACH, or Credit Card (surcharge 2.35%)

Monthly Payment o Ten equal payments (June through April) o Required to enroll in the automatic withdrawal (ACH) from August through April o One payment due on the June 30th

• New and Returning Students o One check payable to Merryhill School o Credit Card (surcharge 2.35%)

Tuition Standard Discount

• Sibling Discount is 5% off for one child based on the youngest sibling’s tuition.

• No other discounts such as annual, semi-annual, and sibling discount can be combined.

2023-2024 School Year