Grocery and housing prices are up, and so is the cost of education. On Feb. 1, parents received an email from Head of School Jennifer Price announcing the start of the re-enrollment process and another annual tuition increase for the 2025- 26 academic year.
The Board of Trustees approved a $65 million budget for the 2025- 26 school year, which was paired with a 5% increase in tuition across the entire school. The vast majority of the tuition dollars will go toward boosting employee compensation, Dr. Price wrote in the email.
“One of the most important things the Board of Trustees does every year is approve the budget, which includes the tuition increase, and the compensation increase, and other important components that make up the budget,” Chief Financial Officer Tara Gohlmann P ’23 ’26 ’28 said.
The bulk of the budget work happens within the Board’s Finance Committee, which meets throughout the year beginning in October, she said. The committee assesses the school’s needs and current budget before making a final recommendation for the Board to vote on in January. To help inform salary raises, the committee uses benchmarking information from other independent schools across the greater Boston area.
“It’s an art, not a science,” Dr. Gohlmann said. “There’s only so much we can do, so we have to prioritize the things that we want to do from a budget standpoint: keeping the tuition increase reasonable.”
The most essential component is salaries, she said.
“Seventy-one percent of our budget is compensation every year, so that’s the biggest driver of what our budget is.”
Other priorities include costs that are prone to inflationary pressures.
Compared to peer institutions with similar selectivity, the school is above the median for tuition but is still comparable, Dr. Gohlmann said. In the past five years, the school’s 4-6% tuition increase has been in line with the average 5% for schools in greater Boston, she said.
The tuition for grades 7-12 will increase by 5% from $63,700 to $66,900 for the 2025-26 school year. Comparatively, The Noble and Greenough School’s tuition will increase by 4.2% from $62,600 to $65,200, and The Rivers School’s tuition will increase by 4.5% from $63,290 to $66,140.
Upper School Math and Computer Science Teacher Mark Fidler said the school’s urban location provides a unique challenge, as the high cost of nearby housing makes it more difficult to retain faculty.
“One of the challenges is a lot of the other competitive schools are a little bit outside the downtown area, which means you can live in a more affordable area and have a reasonable commute.”
Board of Trustees Chair Jason Hafler ’00 P ’34 ’36 said the budgeting process reflects the school’s commitment to its mission of being “an academically excellent, diverse, and inclusive community.”
“We are a group who understands that top-tier teachers and staff are the biggest differentiators toward impacting the excellence of the educational experience for students. We are a school that ‘walks the walk’ with respect to allocating resources in a manner that honors that understanding.”
The significant portion of the budget that goes toward salaries and benefits demonstrates the school prioritizing teachers and staff, he said.
“There is agreement among the Board and school leadership that one of BB&N’s greatest strengths derives from its people. Whenever I’m asked about my experience of BB&N as a student, I always lead with the amazing teachers, advisors, and coaches who had such an incredible impact on me during my time here.”
Finance Committee Chair Shep Perkins P ’27 ’29 said the committee modifies expenses each year to carry out the school’s mission best. One such addition to next year’s budget is a shuttle to and from South Station.
“Key parts of the mission are about academic excellence and diversity, and diversity comes in a lot of forms. One of the strengths of the BB&N community and the student body is we draw students from nearly 100 cities and towns, which is phenomenal.”
The Board is also aware of the costs for families, he said.
“We’re super conscious of the fact that it’s a high-priced education, and we’re sharpening our pencils every year to find ways to try to be more efficient while delivering what we think is the best education we can and living up to our mission of being an academically excellent institution.”
Salar Sekhavat ’26 acknowledged the challenges of balancing costs for families and the school’s operating costs. However, a tuition increase can offer the school a more consistent money inflow than other sources like donations, he said.
“It’s really a tough situation all around. The teachers need more money to combat inflation and the rising cost of living, but the tuition rise, in turn, puts pressure on families because their resources are strained in the current economy too.”
Ultimately, it makes sense that the school’s tuition increased, Salar said.
