There’s only so much money parents are willing and able to pay for private school education, and a handful of big local names seem to be nearing that point.
After years of plenty, some independent private schools in Chattanooga are putting a lid on tuition increases while offering more financial aid.
“Our tuition has outpaced inflation,” said Randy Tucker, the headmaster at Girls Preparatory School for 23 years. “Until we see a real impact from Volkswagen … we need to watch our tuition.”
At GPS, tuition rose 5.5 percent from 2007 to 2008 and 6.9 percent from 2008 to 2009. This year, tuition increased 2.5 percent, and next year parents will pay 2.8 percent more to send their daughters to the school in North Chattanooga.
A survey of Chattanooga’s largest private schools shows that the city’s oldest private schools — GPS, McCallie and Baylor — anticipate tuition increases of about 2 percent next year, which keeps their tuition at about $19,500. However, some of their similarly sized Christian school counterparts expect to boost tuition more.