As the Board and Administration are developing budgets for next year, we thought it would be helpful for you to know our thoughts behind the process. We all realize we do not have the luxury of using tax dollars to pay for Christian Education. Those dollars must come from you as parents and those who generously support the school. Each year we ask ourselves several questions when analyzing the actual cost to our families. Some of the major questions we consider are:
- Do we offer competitive and fair wages to attract and retain excellent teachers and staff?
- Are we offering a balanced program to adequately prepare our students to enter any field they desire?
- What does it mean to be a steward in relationship to this budget?
- Are there sources of help, such as ACSTO to offset a family’s out of pocket tuition cost?
- Are we competitive with other schools with the programs we offer and our wages?
- Does our budget support an excellent overall educational program?
We realize it is a big investment to attend VCS and we do not take that lightly. Considering the cost, while addressing these questions, becomes a real dilemma at times. In the end, we always want to make sure a student’s education at VCS has prepared them to be culture changers for Christ. That may mean adding programs and classes, and this always comes with a cost.
As the investing adage goes, if you do not invest now, your return will not be as large in the future. Or, if you do not invest at all, there will be no return. Although we do not deny the investment is large, the Bible tells us if our efforts are focused on Kingdom Work, our efforts will not return void. At VCS, we are confident the return on your investment will be bountiful. Investing now will return future culture changers for Christ our world so desperately needs.
Thank you for investing in the lives of students and partnering with us to yield big returns for God’s Kingdom.
Dan Kuiper
Head of School