Sweeping changes ahead to keep Herzlia viable

TALI FEINBERG

In a webinar for parents, stakeholders, and staff on Thursday, 25 June, to explain the reasoning for the decision, UHS Chief Executive Andries van Renssen said, “This isn’t only a Constantia problem, it’s a whole-of-Herzlia problem.”

He said the main drivers behind the Constantia decision and other possible changes were “dropping enrolment numbers and making the school sustainable”.

“With the number of pupils we have, we have too many staff members. For every child, there are 10 teachers. Furthermore, more than 80% of fees are going towards salaries.

“We needed to do something drastic so that we have enough resources to run the school. Our response is restructuring and consolidation. We are concerned about the high cost of school fees and the increasing number of parents battling to pay, as well as the increase in bursaries.”

He pointed to the Jews of South Africa in 2019 survey conducted by the Isaac and Jessie Kaplan Centre for Jewish Studies at the University of Cape Town, which asked parents if they were choosing to have fewer children because of high school fees. Many said yes.

“This made me really worried. We have inefficiencies in our system, and I can’t look you in the eye and say that our school fees are high, but we have no wastage. We need to look carefully and respond with responsibility,” he said. “The biggest question is how to make Herzlia a modern, relevant, world-class school for the 21st century that’s also financially sustainable.”

UHS treasurer Leor Atie painted a dramatic picture. “The numbers don’t tell a pretty story, but they’re numbers that we need to react to,” he said.

He explained that at the annual general meeting in December 2019, the numbers looked positive. “However, any well-run organisation looks forward and makes adjustments. We looked at the budget for 2021 early because of COVID-19, and we see its massive impact.

“There is a projected deficit of R39 million, but with grants and allocations received, this reduces to just more than R20 million. About R9.5 million of these grants comes from the United Jewish Campaign, which is itself under enormous pressure, as are its donors. We want the school to be self-sustaining, so this reliance is dangerous in the long term.”

Atie showed that the school operated at a surplus, after grants and allocations, of R3.1 million in 2019, and the projected deficit for 2021 was R20.2 million – a difference of R23.4 million. These changes for 2021 are based on the assumption that school fees would increase by 5%, and expenses would increase by 4% due to inflation. There would be a R7 million increase in bursaries granted, and pupil numbers would drop from 1 753 to 1 652.

The forecast shows that over the past four years, there has been a 23% drop in pupil enrolment, but only a 10% drop in staff members.

Atie said salaries across the UHS system in 2021 would cost R125.8 million, which is 83.7% of gross fee income. “As a community school, we aren’t for profit, but we need to be sustainable. Eighty three percent of fees spent on salaries isn’t a sustainable situation.”

It shows that UHS has to address capacity requirements across all schools. This process has now begun in consultation with unions and the CCMA (the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation, and Arbitration). Van Renssen promised that every staff member would be evaluated carefully on the basis of what they could offer. “It’s not a case of ‘last in, first out’,” he said.

A parent suggested that just the Constantia Kerem pre-primary campus could stay open in the area, which management agreed was a possibility. It continues to consult a group representing parents of the Constantia primary and pre-primary schools.

Another parent suggested merging the middle school (a separate campus for Grades 7-9) with the primary and high schools, and van Renssen said that this was, indeed, a possibility.

Education Director Geoff Cohen said that while it was “devastating” to see the school go through these changes, they were needed. “My wish is that every child stays within the UHS system,” he said. “Herzlia isn’t closing. It will become a stronger, greater school.”