Haddonfield schools pursue more tuition students

Winning sports teams, artistic achievement, high test scores, Ivy League alumni - and a price tag less than a lot of private schools.

How about Haddonfield?

That's the message coming out of South Jersey's most affluent public school district as it seeks to increase its number of out-of-district, tuition-paying students as a way to raise new revenue.

On Wednesday, prospective students and their families can attend a 6:30 p.m. open house at Haddonfield Memorial High. The district has run advertisements in local papers, distributed e-mails, and is boasting of its achievements and charms in the tuition section of the Haddonfield schools' website.

"The primary reason is to raise revenue because of the loss of state aid," Superintendent Richard Perry said.

Haddonfield was one of the 59 districts that lost all its state formula aid - $1.5 million - for the current school year. Faced with an $11 billion budget gap, Gov. Christie slashed education aid statewide by $1 billion. The financial picture for next year is not promising either.

After the aid cut, Haddonfield asked a group of Rutgers master's of business administration students to propose ways the district could generate new funding. One of the group's suggestions was for the district to market its attributes to more potential tuition-payers.

"We have a lot to offer," said Steven Weinstein, president of the Haddonfield school board.

The district is hoping to attract prospective sixth- through 12th graders - up to 10 students per grade for a total of 60, Weinstein said.

Haddonfield's assets are hardly a secret.

Recently released state test results put Haddonfield Memorial High School first in the region in math and language pass rates. (Other traditional high-performing schools were close behind.)

At Haddonfield, the average SAT score is 1725 out 2400; 70 percent of the students take at least one of the school's 18 advanced-placement courses, and Ivy League acceptances are not uncommon, according to Perry. And, he noted, girls' tennis, boys' cross-country, and the football team all had good seasons.

The district's current 22 tuition-paying students hail from around South Jersey, including well-regarded districts such as Medford and Cherry Hill.

Michael Wilson, the high school's principal, who interviews all applicants, said families were attracted by the district's reputation but also by the high school's relatively smaller size - about 770 students.

All this, of course, comes with a price. Tuition is $11,250 a year at the high school and $9,900 at the middle school. That is higher than some area private schools, but less than others.

Middle school at Haddonfield Friends School, for example, is $13,945 this year. Moorestown Friends' tuition is $19,450 for middle school and $22,350 for high school. Bishop Eustace charges $14,900, plus a $500 fee for freshman and new students. Holy Cross High School in Delran, at $8,550, is less.

Charging tuition for out-of-district students is permitted by the state.

The Collingswood district, for one, has paying, out-of-district students in its autism and half-day preschool programs, as may full-day preschool when it begins next year. Currently, tuition brings in about $110,000 for the district.

"This is a win-win for both Collingswood and the sending district or parents," Superintendent Scott Oswald said.

In the Lambertville area, the South Hunterdon Regional School District, serving seventh through 12th grade, stepped up its efforts to recruit tuition-paying students in the past, both to generate more revenue and increase diversity, according to Superintendent Nancy Gartenberg.

New Jersey School Boards Association spokesman Frank Belluscio said the practice was used more in the past during times of declined enrollment, but had not been employed much in the last 10 years.

Haddonfield decided not to become a choice school.

"We like the idea of being in control of our destiny," said Perry, adding that the district already had the tuition program in place and wanted to admit students the district believed would be successful.

All students who apply may not be accepted. While Wilson said there was no hard-and-fast criteria, previous grades and test scores will be considered, and the children and their families will meet with staff.

For now, district officials will look to see what Wednesday's open house brings.

"It's a beginning," Weinstein said. "It's a cold January night, and it's still a bad economy, but we want to get the word out. It's a multiyear project."