Dear Parents,
Since the recent announcement of the five-year drop in tuition at CHAT, we have been engaged at both the board and supporter levels of our schools to determine the potential impact of this decision, and how to most prudently address the issue of middle income affordability.
While the school’s cost to educate each child for this coming year is $24,700, after much careful consideration, we have committed to offering an unconditional subsidy to any family that is struggling to meet the full cost of tuition, but who does not meet the requirements for a regular subsidy.
We are pleased to offer each family one of the following three choices that helps address their financial needs over the next five years:
- Pay full cost tuition. This has been set at $24,700 for 2017/2018 and will be re-determined each year. Contracts already in place for 2017/2018 that reflect the early registration discount will of course be honoured.
- Receive an unconditional subsidy and pay $20,000 tuition in each of 2017/18 and 2018/19, and $21,000 in each of the last three years of the program. Each family can select the subsidy level they need, but tuition paid cannot be below the stated minimums.
- Participate in the regular subsidy application process if further subsidy is needed.
The surcharge for the upcoming year will remain unchanged and will stay payable by all families. We expect that surcharge increases over the remaining four-year period will be in accordance with past practices.
Our regular subsidy support and process will not change, and we will continue to provide exceptional levels of support to qualifying families through the usual subsidy process.
Why we are providing an unconditional subsidy:
The board and executive committee recognize that the cost of tuition can be a hardship for many families – even those who do not qualify for subsidy. We feel strongly that price should not be a determining factor for parents whose preference it is to send their children to Or Chaim or Ulpana because they believe in our mission and our ability to create a vibrant Yeshiva environment with a commitment to religious growth and a close attachment to Israel.
Several donors have contributed significantly towards the unconditional subsidy program outlined above and we appreciate their generosity and leadership.
After carefully considering our financial situation, the board and executive committee have determined that these generous donations will allow us to responsibly provide the unconditional subsidy without sacrificing the quality of our program. We are confident that this move will be enough to eliminate cost as a deciding factor for families who believe in our mission.
How we can responsibly offer an unconditional subsidy:
We are fortunate to have embarked on an ambitious endowment campaign over the past two years, designed to ensure the long-term viability and success of our schools. We have tremendous Hakarat HaTov to our Rosh Yeshiva, Rabbi Seth Grauer and our past chair of our board, Michael Lax, for spearheading and leading this enormous initiative and we look forward to sharing further details on this endowment and its completion in the coming months. While we will not be able to draw from the endowment’s capital, the income generated from the capital’s investment will be used to cover a large part of the annual subsidies that we provide. The decision to offer an unconditional subsidy of $4,700 in 2017/2018 will however still mean that we will need to increase our annual fundraising goals to offset the cost of our regular subsidies as well as the new shortfall created by the unconditional subsidy.
We hope that our parents and community will partner with us to raise the shortfall by bringing forward fundraising ideas, becoming involved in our existing fundraising activities, and joining the board members and a growing number of parents who have committed to pay the full cost of education, despite the opportunity of an unconditional subsidy.
Your contracts and payment plans:
We hope that any family who is able to pay the full cost of education will continue to do so. If you elect to make use of the unconditional subsidy for the upcoming school year, please submit your request in writing to Esther Mendlowitz in the business office at YOC no later than May 15, 2017.
If you have any questions about the unconditional subsidy program, please contact either Esther Mendlowitz at 416-630-6772 ext. 41 or Sharon Kaminsky at 416-630-6772 ext. 70
Wishing you all a Chag Kasher v’ Sameach.
Howard Wasserman, President
Esther Berglas, Chair
