Endowments: Ready Cash? Rainy Day Funds?

It's late spring, early summer. If you are the head or owner of a private K-12 school, you are coping with the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020. It never seems to end, does it?

Your academic year 2019-2020 was going so well until everything stopped in March. You sent students home. You sent teachers home. In a matter of hours, your in-person classroom instruction became online instruction. Your old way of doing things was predictable and full of cherished traditions that made your school what it was. Your brand had dozens of metrics that proved to potential families that your school was worth the fees you charged. Your mission to educate the whole child that depended on personal interaction and watchful supervision was rarely questioned. Your brand and your mission have not changed. But the way you deliver them has most definitely changed.

So, how does a school like yours survive the aftermath of this terrible pandemic? By living in the moment with a cautious, clear vision of the future.

In this video, a doctor explains what COVID-19 is.

Step 1. Convene a planning committee to plan for the academic year

Keep your committee small but representative. Your administrative staff, faculty, board members, and parents are experienced, devoted people who care about the school. Their job is to develop a road map for the immediate future. Management of the day-to-day

Parents turn to private K-12 education for all kinds of reasons, from overall quality of curricula and individualized teaching strategies to location and religious affiliation. Now they may be adding another motivation to the list: overcrowded classrooms and public school bus rides just seem more dangerous in the age of coronavirus.

If you’re home-schooling your kids right now, the day they return to classes may seem like a distant dream. (How’s your blood pressure?) But September will come—with or without online classes. Chances are you’re making decisions right now that will affect at least a year of your child’s future. Chief among them may be how you will continue to finance your child’s private school education.

In 2020, the average cost of K-12 private school tuition reached $11,012. Depending on where you live and whether you have elementary-, middle-, or high school-age kids, your mileage may vary. But across the country, student loan debt has been increasing steadily along with the rising cost of education. K-12 loans aren’t subsidized by the federal government like higher-education loans. Still, many parents clearly believe that private school education is worth the investment. The question moms and dads should be asking themselves is, “How can I be sure I’m investing wisely?”

School Stability

The global coronavirus pandemic has injected uncertainty into every sector of the economy. That’s true at the micro-level, as many parents join the fast-expanding ranks of unemployed workers. It’s also true for private schools,

The COVID-19 closed schools nationwide in the spring of 2020. One day schools were open. The next day they were closed indefinitely as state governors issues stay at home orders. Then schools scrambled to replace familiar face-to-face classroom instruction with online learning. Sports and extracurricular activities became distant memories. Plans for summer school and camps went out the window. Graduations, end of year traditions such as school plays and assemblies are virtual occasions in 2020. It's all so different, so scary, and so unsettling. Yet, you and I know that life must go on.

Dr. Reinhold Niehbur's Serenity Prayer comes to mind as a spiritual anchor for these troubled times:

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,

courage to change the things I can,

and wisdom to know the difference.

I cite this prayer because it expresses the attitude each of us must bring to bear on the situation which faces us in our daily lives. Our children's education is a critical concern. That's why we elected to send our kids to private school in the first place. However, this COVID-19 virus is controlling everything. And it will continue to do so indefinitely until we have vaccines to protect us.

This short video displays The Serenity Prayer.

With that in mind, here are five things you need to do when you are a parent with children

Life-changing events dot history's pages. Wars, hurricanes, tornados, terrorist attacks - the list goes on and on. Just when we thought that we couldn't imagine anything worse, in early 2020 along came the COVID-19 pandemic. It has brought our economy and our lives to a screeching halt. Will life ever be the same?

Now, if you are thinking about private school for your child in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, you should exercise even more due diligence than you usually would. After all, sending your child to private school is a major expense for most families.

Note: The information that follows does not constitute financial or legal advice. Always consult your financial advisor and attorney when making any significant expenditure.

How private schools operate

Most private schools have one major revenue stream, namely, tuition fees. If that revenue stream is compromised, the school's ability to survive will be doubtful. Essentially, if a school cannot fill its available seats, its financial future will be bleak. It will be on life support before much longer and may have to cease operations. Sadly, most schools have had to cancel their summer sessions. Summer sessions have traditionally been reliable revenue producers for schools. Some schools have rented out their facilities during the summer to outside organizations such as computer camps or soccer camps. That revenue stream may not always be available.

The other factor to consider is that the pandemic may require schools to remain closed into the