The International Schools Review Forum

We are weighing two, one-year contracts right now. One of the schools is asking us to pay over $1000 per month in tuition for our 3 children. That is 20% of our net monthly salary. Is this standard? The school is in China, and in the explanationn they provided, they said it was because of the one child rule in China and we pay progressively more for each of our children. Just checking to see if this is standard practice.
Thanks for your help

That is BS. Its a private school charging tuition, the one child rule ahs nothing to do with it. Its not typically standard at all. Just about every school gives tuition waivers AT LEAST at a ratio of 1:1 (one employee, one tuition waiver), are BOTH of you working at the school? many schools will go 1:2, 1:3 is pushing it, but if your spouse is working as well, they should give waivers for all three. At the very worst, i could see you paying for 1 childs tuition but thats it.

Why only a 1 year contract? Basically, they are just being cheap.

PsyGuy,
Thanks for your reply...my wife and i will both be teaching at the school. I figured it was a little "cheap," but wanted some more input. I guesss I will work on a countere to their offer.
fyi, the one-year contract is our choice...we are receiving sabbaticals from our schools in the U.S.

I understand the sabbaticals issue. Your both working there, with 3 children you should get full a full waiver for all three of them.

FYI: Tuition waivers are the cheapest aspect of a school contract. They may be keeping the waivers in reserve, as currency so that they can negotiate it away easily for something they really dont want to give you.

My guess is that the one year contract is just more expensive (in terms of airfare, recruiting fees) for them then they like.

I agree that you should get full waivers for at least 2 children, and probably three. Some schools, good schools too, can't afford to give waivers for more than one or two children.

While waivers might seem cheap, they aren't always. If it's a school, or even a grade level, that is at capacity, putting in your child for free means turning away a fee-paying student. Hardly cheap. In my current school, that's the situation. We're full. Teachers' kids come for free, which means that every teacher's child represents an opportunity cost for the school. In my school, that's not an issue. We're well funded and recognize the value added in terms of getting good teachers and rounding out the student body. In other schools, where money is tighter, hard decisions must be made. One extra fee-paying student could represent a new set of textbooks or a visit from a famous author or those repairs to the gym that have been delayed or ???

On the other hand, if the school isn't full, if there's an empty space in a class that will otherwise stay empty, a waiver costs the school very little.

If the schools otherwise full they are simply placing an extra child in a classroom that they wouldnt otherwise do. Either the school is full and they are making an exception (over capacity) they wouldnt have realized revenue from anyway, or the school isnt full, and the incremental cost of a student is very very low. Since in this case they are charging tuition, I would reasonably conclude that the school isnt full.

In my experience schools are seldom truly, truly full.

Just adding my two cents worth....I will be starting a job in china this fall and my package includes full tuition for my two children, but I have to pay their flights myself.... Hope this helps.

Sorry, PG, it's not that simple. Some schools, my own included, will not go over the limit, even for a teacher's kid. So if the school is full, it really is full, and a teacher's kid really does represent lost tuition.

I'm in Hong Kong as a single teacher. They pay 100% tuition for my two children but I get taxed on it. I interviewed with a school in China last year that wanted to hire me but would only pay for one child. It was a deal breaker.

@Sid

I understand, but thats an internal decision. Just because they WONT go over the limit doesnt mean they CANT go over the limit if they decided they wanted to. Its an issue of motivation. If your school was sufficiently motivated/inspired to add a couple extra students they could.

@DCgirl

A lot of teachers in europe feel the same way. The tax on a years tuition (at out high tax rates) can cost a months net salary.

We pay the flight for our daughter, but the tuition is free. School is growing and not at capacity.

We won't be paying any tuition for our 2 daughters (only I am working, though my wife will be doing cover) and we get an annual flight allowance, but as Americans in a British school, we're assuming we will have to pay a bit as we come from the East Coast and the allowance is based on UK flight prices. The school is in Beijing.