Tough paying for Montessori next year

[smaug20000]

My dd was in a toddler program at our M school this year, and she is doing great. I really like the school, and I think she is benefiting a lot from her time there. Next year, she is scheduled to go to primary, and I am wanting her to go. But, it would be a big stretch for us financially. My budget shows that we can just barely make it, but I am wondering if it will be really stressful for us at home. I mean what if the water heater needs to be replaced? So anyway, is anyone else having this difficult decision? I had hoped that my husband would have a better job by now, but we can't really bank on that considering the economy and all.

I might either put her in a cheaper M school that I am going to tour soon or a church-based play preschool. I think if I can't send her this upcoming year, that her school probably wouldn't have a spot for her the following year.

[MattBronsil]

This has been a huge issue lately on the boards. The economy is just hard. I hope you can figure something out.

[daytripper75]

I *just* read an article that said over and over that parents need to talk to the school when they find themselves in times of financial hardship. There are often things that can be done to help families out.

My worry is about lo #2 going to school and having to pay two tuitions. It's a tough place to be in.

[eepster]

Yeah we're OK for this year, and we managed the deposit (which includes the first two months tuition) for next year. We are a bit worried about how things will be going by November. We have some properties we rent out and when they aren't rented we still have to pay the mortgage, taxes and what not. We had problems with our largest place this year and if it's still vacant in November then we will have a problem making both the mortgage and tuition.

[Rose-Roget]

Originally Posted by daytripper75

I *just* read an article that said over and over that parents need to talk to the school when they find themselves in times of financial hardship. There are often things that can be done to help families out.

I just wrote a school and asked about me helping them out to "work off" some of the tuition. So far, they haven't written back.

Originally Posted by daytripper75

My worry is about lo #2 going to school and having to pay two tuitions. It's a tough place to be in.

We are in the exact same position. If we have another lo, then I don't think I could afford to continue to work because of the cost of tuition and childcare. While I'm pushing for us to try to send ds to private Montessori, it's probably not the most financially sound decision.

[Koloe]

I'm lucky in that the school district will pay for either of my 2 choices for next year. But this year has been hard because I was laid off at the end of October and I'm still looking for a job. Just 2 more tuition payments to make. I hope something works out for you.

[MommaSuzi]

We're struggling with this too. Our dd's school sent home info for priority re-enrollment and we were relieved to see tuition is not increasing for next year, but we're still worried about paying for next year and wondering if we should go somewhere cheaper. I hate to switch, but if we could save 2,000 it would make such a difference...
Deposits are supposed to be payed in March, but we're thinking of telling them we just can't make the decision yet. I hate to keep them waiting, I know they need to make plans for the next year, but I also have no doubt their will be openings remaining if we make a late decision.

[spedteacher30]

our school just announced an increase in the financial aid allotment for next year.

I just hope we are offered the same (ideally slightly larger) package for next year...

[smaug20000]

tuition

I love our school so much, but the tuition is $9,300 per year for primary. I have been thinking it over, and I'm going to talk to the school. But really, I don't think we can swing it. We may do either a cheaper Montessori if we like one - they are about $6,700. Or do a church-based preschool 2 mornings a week and try to supplement with Montessori stuff at home. It would get us more into Montessori ourselves as well. Then maybe the next year, we would be in a better place financially to pay for M. It's so hard, but Dave Ramsey was convincing me that our debt should get paid off. It doesn't make sense that we are having credit card debt, mortgage, car payment, plus very expensive private preschool.

[mamalemon]

This is obviously a common problem. Our school is now offering a 12 month payment plan as opposed to the 10 month plan (school is in session for 10 months) and full year pre-pay that they were offering. They also just switched to a non-profit status from an LLC.

I hope that you can find some way to make it work! Talk to your school's director if things seem too bad and see if you can trade volunteer time for tuition or something of the sort.

[KBecks]

We are looking at a tuition increase and #2 starting school. I am questioning the value, I like our school but we will be looking at >$50k for ch for 3 kids and the economy concerns me. We can do next year, but I don't know if it's worth it when we have other decent schools, they are just not M.

[Sam75]

2 kids in montessori is hard!!

Yes we are in a similar situation. With 2 kids in Montessori primary, we pay about $14,000 a year for tuition. And that's a hefty cost at the end of the day. With lay offs going off here and there, and not knowing what is happening with everything, its hard to sign a contract at this point for one year and be responsible for tuition if we have to pull her out for whatever reason. The contract says we still got to pay until they can replace our child's spot, and since ours is a new school, our school does not carry an arm long wait list either so its a risk.

[chekhovgirl]

This is my predicament. I work at a M school right now, so tuition is discounted for me. If it wasn't, it would be $18,000! DS will be home with me and the new baby next year because I'm most likely not continuing at this school. However, when he is 3.5 and ready to go into "preschool"- he's in the toddler program now- I will probably not be working and there's just no way I think we'll be able to afford it. The cheapest program I can find in my area is $6,050 for next year and the tuition went up $550 from this year, so it'll be even higher once DS is of age. This is for 5 half days.

I just don't understand how some people send three kids to my school at $14-18,000 per kid!

So, this is how I'm preparing myself. If we can't afford Montessori, we'll send DS to our public preschool down the street which is attended by a friend's daughter. I highly trust their judgement and it's a public school so it's regulated, has curriculum, highly qualified teachers, etc.- I know it's not just glorified babysitting. Then I'll just make an extra effort to be very Montessori in lifestyle with him at home and possibly do a bit of "homeschooling" with materials. I'm not a trained teacher, but I grew up in the method as my mom is a teacher. So, that's my plan! I hope you can find something that works for you.

We're very committed to not being in debt and always keeping a safe financial cushion.

[Lillianna]

I don't know if this will help or not:
http://www.montessori-omi.org/7.html
good luck!

[mightymoo]

It's a stretch for us too, however we have plenty of savings to dip into if we go over budget. However, our school system was in deep trouble before the economy and very hard winter hit here in New england, its in much much worse shape now. For me, I would have been torn in regular times, the tough economic times hitting our school system so hard makes the decision easier for me, since I feel that she would be really lost in the huge class sizes and suffer from the loss of activities.

The town had a $2M budget cut in the fall (we don't get the state funding we really should, the formulas screw us), much of which was expected to be cut out of the schools - an override (tax increase) did not pass. Class sizes increased and teachers lost aides, etc. Now in February, the schools have to cut another $500K and have literally run out of money. The town is Meeting in March to cut the budget again. They announced any further snowy days (just snowy, not snow days) will result in school delay because they can't afford to pay the janitors overtime to come in early and shovel the walks.

So, for us, making the reductions in spending and perhaps dipping into savings to get by these couple years (until DS goes to school full time and I can go back to work) are worth it because I feel the education she would get at the public school has seriously declined there.

[wrzos]

This is going to be our first year with 2 M tuitions and we are feeling it. We've budgeted for it, and can pay for it (this year) even if hubby were to unexpectedly lose his job, but it is still scary to sign that contract!

We are looking long-term as well, given that we just had baby #3. Just staggering the amount of money that can be spent. My sister is a private school teacher. At her school (not M), a 6th grader can pay upwards of $30K for a single year of schooling. In comparison, my M school tuition looks to be a bargain! LOL

For right now, we haven't really been impacted by the economic downturn. I mean sure, our investments have taken a HUGE hit, but we weren't living off their income, so it is a long-term adjustment rather than daily budgeting, kwim?