School Tuition Raises: How High is Too High?

Starting next year, the School will be raising tuition by 5.9% for all divisions. The increase, which was announced in an email to parents on February 3rd, will swell Upper School tuition to $54,000 a year.

In a poll of 47 Upper School students, only 2% of them said that they had a positive view of the School’s tuition increase, with 83% stating that they either had a negative or very negative view on the issue. Despite the majority of these students having a negative view, 15% of those who responded were indifferent to the issue.

According to the email sent to parents, 73% of the increase is “directly related to faculty, administration, and staff.” Jerry Mullaney, the School’s Chief Financial and Operating Officer, added that “the other 27% of the increase will support such initiatives as increased staffing for student counselors and learning differences, enhancements to our campus safety and security, increased subsidies for our food service and bus transportation programs (We have seen dramatic increases in the cost of buses and food), and improved/enhanced technology campus-wide.”

As well as the programs mentioned here, Mullaney said that “probably most significantly, the additional funds will allow us to increase our financial assistance budget by an amount which is the largest in the school’s history, helping to make a Head-Royce education more affordable for more students.”

The email also stated that one of the factors behind the tuition increase was a 4.9% increase in inflation in the Bay Area in 2022. Mullaney clarified that the discrepancy between the 4.9% inflation and 5.9% tuition increase is because the School is “facing costs which are rising faster than inflation.” 

The School also raised the cost of tuition because student participation in sports, the arts, debate, robotics, and other school programs “have all increased significantly, even beyond pre-Covid levels.” This increased interest adds more strain on the School’s budget, contributing to the tuition increase. 

Some students agreed that the tuition increase was not solely negative, stating that they want their teachers to be paid fairly. However, some students were very much against the increase, with one saying, “I believe education [should be] accessible to everyone, [so] when you put these limits on the youth and their ability to learn and grow as humans, it creates a negative notion that they are not worthy.”

In comparison, in-state book and board for undergraduates at the University of California Berkeley is an estimated $37,352 to $41,052. That is 13 thousand dollars less than going to the School in high school. For many students, that price is outrageous. “With as much as Head-Royce is charging…, I still think that they can make other things cheaper… like food prices,” said freshman Maya Pabla.  

Tuition increases are never popular, but this increase has been more unpopular than some of its predecessors. This is mostly due to the magnitude of the increase. Another factor is that the increase applies to students receiving grants too, which is frustrating for students who rely on the grants to go to this school.

On the other hand, as students who go to this School, we should count ourselves lucky, as we have the privilege of going to a really good educational institution. As Mullaney said, part of this tuition increase is dedicated to funding programs like robotics, sports, and arts that genuinely increase the quality of student life at the School. Additionally, I think that despite the valid frustration a tuition increase like this creates, we need to remember that we go to this school because it is a great school. Personally, I don’t like the tuition increases, but if the tuition hike is funding the School’s extracurricular programs and the teachers and staff that we rely on, then it’s worth paying.