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Byne to start static tuition rate increase

• Byne Memorial School students will receive smaller yearly tuition rate increases under a new school program.

Joshua Brown

ALBANY — A new program in place at Byne Memorial School will help parents predict and better plan for their children’s tuition at the Christian school by locking in tuition increases at a set rate, the school’s headmaster said this week.

The program, called “Know your child’s tuition from now until graduation,” sets the annual tuition increase at 1.5 percent, Headmaster John Davis said Wednesday. That helps a family better plan for the school’s tuition, he said, because the school, like most, typically increases its tuition 3-5 percent each year.

Because the tuition increase would be locked in at a yearly rate, it would remove the guesswork from the finance equation, Davis said.

“It’s an incentive to keep tuition as affordable as possible for those families who want a Christian education in the community,” he said.

Tuition for the 2007-2008 year was $4,184 for first- twelfth grade. The static tuition rate increase will go into effect for the 2008-2009 school year, he said.

The change was approved by the school board, after which it went to Byne Memorial Baptist Church’s finance committee, deacons and finally church members before receiving final approval, Davis said.

“So the church is very supportive of the program,” he said.

Enrollment for the 2007-2008 school year was 170 by year’s end for K4 through grade 12, he said. Enrollment for the 2008-2009 school year was at 100, about 25 ahead of where it was at this time last year, Davis said.

“At this point, we’re very encourged by the re-enrollment process and new families. We’ve picked up 13 new students at this point,” Davis said.

Students’ families sign enrollment contracts for one year at a time. If a student leaves the school for more than a year, the locked-in tuition increase is voided, and the student will have to re-enroll under new student tuition rates, Davis said.

He also said that the school received its reaccreditation letter Wednesday from the Georgia Association of Christian Schools for the next six years.

That means that “basically, any colleges recognize Byne as a viable school, an accredited school, meaning it’s been checked out (and found to have acceptable programs),” he said.

Because the school has been associated with the GACS for the last 25 years, Davis said, it has not researched other accrediting associations, such as the state’s largest, the Georgia Independent School Association.

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