Matt Burgy, Head of School

Dear Oakridge Family,

This past week, I had the privilege of watching our Upper School Student Ambassadors in action. Seeing them eloquently engage with prospective parents and peer professionals—and hearing them describe the transformative impact of their Oakridge experience—provided powerful clarity on our school's mission. While much of my focus is on the business of Oakridge (strategy, outreach, and fundraising), our students are the clearest proof of our success.

This success brings up a frequent, fair question, especially during the Oakridge Fund appeal: "Where does the money go?" The direct answer is that operating a top-tier, independent, college preparatory school is a significant financial endeavor, as is your investment in your child’s education. We understand that our tuition reflects a premium price, and we work very hard to deliver a premium educational experience.  Tuition helps ensure we have the resources needed to fulfill our mission effectively.  

By far, our greatest asset—and our largest expense—is our dynamic faculty and staff. As a human-centered organization, the majority of our annual budget is dedicated to recruiting, retaining, and supporting the highly talented educators who work directly with your children every day. Our second major expense is the school's physical plant. Maintaining our idyllic campus, which includes over 100 acres and tens of thousands of square feet, requires a substantial, ongoing investment in utilities, maintenance, and long-term care of the "brick and mortar." The remainder of our budget is dedicated to: direct student costs (books, school-issued technology, fine arts, and athletics), auxiliary services (summer camp, extended care, facility rentals), and necessary administrative expenses (marketing, information systems, etc.).  While we’ve made meaningful investments in our athletic program through strategic hiring and planning, the actual dollars allocated to athletics represent a small fraction of our overall budget—consistent with peer schools. This chart reflects a recent breakdown of Oakridge’s operating expenses:

We know that tuition represents a significant investment for your family, and we want to ensure you fully understand how these funds, along with your philanthropic support, work together to power our school. The most important concept in our financial model is the Tuition Gap — the difference between the tuition charged and the actual Cost of Education (COE) for each student.

Simply put, as at most independent schools, tuition alone does not cover the full cost of an Oakridge education. While tuition covers approximately 91% of the costs, the remaining percentage must be covered by other sources.

To bridge the Tuition Gap and ensure long-term stability, we rely on three key philanthropic pillars: the Oakridge Fund, The Super Supper and Auction, and the Endowment. The Oakridge Fund directly funds the Tuition Gap for the year, which is currently 9% of the operating budget. Through our transportation, summer camp, extended care, and field rentals, we can generate an additional 3% in revenue, reducing the need to fundraise to 6% of our total budget.  Because of this, our Oakridge Fund ensures faculty salaries remain competitive, enables immediate upgrades where needed, enhances current student programs, and enables us to act quickly when unforeseen events occur, such as a massive water leak in the Lower School. Our Super Supper and Auction also plays a pivotal role in funding the remaining cost of an Oakridge education by supplying us with needed gap spending, as well as an opportunity to build community. Because the Oakridge Fund and Super Supper are vital to every student’s experience, we call for 100% participation from our parent community at a level that is meaningful to each family.

Finally, the Endowment is essentially the school’s long-term savings account. It is a large, professionally managed pool of assets that is invested, not spent. While we currently do not meaningfully draw on the endowment, our goal is for the endowment to become a perpetual, predictable source of support for the school in the years ahead. The Endowment will provide a predictable, perpetual stream of income, shielding the school from economic volatility and safeguarding Oakridge's long-term financial health for future generations.

Since I arrived at Oakridge, I have made transparency to our families a priority.  I believe that providing this level of detailed financial context is essential to my partnership with each of you.

Every dollar of tuition, and every gift to the Oakridge Fund and Supper Supper, directly enriches your student’s experience and strengthens our school community.

Thank you again for your incredible support. If you are interested in learning more, I will be hosting a “Morning with Matt” on the Bridge on November 10th. Please see next week’s newsletter for more details.

Warmly,

Matt Burgy
Head of School