Jake Goldstein wrote an op-ed in the Jewish Press suggesting that parents who are on financial assistance be asked nicely every year to donate to the school even after their children graduate, to compensate the school for the tuition assistance that they received. As he admits, parents struggling to pay for elementary school education are going to have an even harder time paying for high school, college, weddings, etc. so most of them wont have much disposable income left over for donations. However for the few whose fortunes turn around and they suddenly have money available for donations, their first priority for donations should be the schools that helped them out when they couldn't pay full freight. So his suggestion, while not a "solution", should still be pursued. It only costs a few stamps every year & if it helps get one parent to repay a few thousand dollars, it's worth it.
Click on the link above t read the whole article. Here's an excerpt of the upshot:
1. A new clause should be included in the tuition reduction form which parents would agree to in writing accepting a moral commitment to make a sincere and good faith ‘best efforts’ to pay back as much of the accumulated tuition reduction as possible by making the school a top priority recipient of their discretionary charitable donations, now and upon leaving the school.
2. Accumulated tuition reduction would then be tracked throughout the duration of the parents’ tenure at the school.
3. On every Elul thereafter, including after their youngest child graduates, parents would receive a statement reminder quantifying the accumulated tuition assistance they received and the years in which it was received, along with the accumulated donations they have given toward their moral obligation.
