Why does UPrep cost so much? Where does all of our money go?   

We, University Prep students, are very well funded. Despite being a small school, we are able to do many different things, such as an annual Jazz trip to Idaho and having nearly $50,000 dollars to spend on publications. UPrep spends over $30,000 per student annually, while Ballard High School’s budget is $6,340 per student.

UPrep’s greatest expense is for our teachers. “We spend about 70% of our budgets on the salaries and benefits of our staff,” Chief Financial Officer Susan Lansverk said.

Spending lots of money on teachers means we have a better student-to-teacher ratio than most schools. This means we have “smaller class sizes, which is the main difference between UPrep and Ballard,” Junior Ben Reed said. Reed went to Ballard in ninth grade.

The second biggest expense at UPrep is financial aid, as we spend $2.5 million on it. “It brings socioeconomic diversity into the student population, which creates a better learning environment. Studies have shown where there is increased diversity there are optimal learning environments,” Director of Financial Aid Michele Hayes said.

But Hayes believes our financial aid does not help enough students. “Right now, we’re stretched…there is a large portion of families that would love to afford an education like [UPrep’], but because financial aid is need-based, sending a child here full pay makes it very difficult for them because they would have to cut a lot out of their life,” she said.

Aside from financial aid, UPrep’s staff are happy with the funding they receive, even if it is very little. Head of the History Department Karen Natorp Anderson said that the history department received one of the smallest budgets compared to other departments.  “Our budget is about $2,500…We could ask for more money, but we haven’t needed that,” she said.

On the opposite side of the spectrum is the Fine Arts department. “Fine Arts is the biggest department on campus,” said Fine Arts Department Head Ty Talbot. “At a time when a lot of schools are cutting the arts, to have a school that supports it so fundamentally is really important,” he said.

This is different from other schools. Previous UPrep student, Thomas Helean is now a junior at Ballard HS and he sees a big difference between the two schools. “I think at Ballard the academics and school supplies could be better funded. Just basic things like paper and pens and printers,” he said.

At UPrep, most things are provided under the lump sum of tuition. This means we don’t have to pay for each individual thing or worry about fundraising. People with financial aid don’t have to avoid activities because they cost too much. Most schools don’t have these luxuries. “I think public schools in general really nickel and dime you when they can because of the lack of funding,” Helean said.

By Aaron Igra