I have been pondering that question for some time. The finance and the development committees have been wrestling with how can we operate Maranatha and keep tuition costs down for months if not years(remember, tuition is 95%+ of top line revenue). As mentioned in the update on the development committee they are working on several ideas.
This post's purpose is to pose to you (how is that for alliteration?) how you could help lower tuition. Yes you can impact it. I am sure there are other ways, but I have one idea for you to kick around. What if every parent and student became part of the marketing arm of Maranatha? I think if we all were properly motivated and sought to encourage other families to join our Maranatha family, I think we could see enrollment go up significantly. If enrollment goes up, expenses get spread out more, and perhaps we could lower tuition for everyone.
Perhaps we will formalize this as a strategy for the 2011-12 school year. That is for the board and administration to work out, but just thought I would throw it out there for your consideration and comments.
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Thanks for taking the time to create this blog--it is a great way to communicate with the parents!! I also love the idea of having the parents act as a source of the marketing--especially since "word of mouth" or friends recommendations are the most trusted source people will use when making decisions. Their are a lot of ways parents can use their social media accounts like Facebook to get to word out to all of their friends and contacts about school events or opportunities. Even the little door hangers the kids handed out in their own neighborhoods last year was a great idea--low cost marketing and they know the best houses to target.
ReplyDeleteThanks Christy for your encouragement and your insight. It is a family effort to keep our school healthy and growing. So hopefully we can coordinate something like this.
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