Kiski School to lower tuition by more than 20 percent in 2020-21

A Westmoreland County boarding school announced Wednesday that it will lower tuition by more than 20 percent next year.

Christopher Brueningsen, headmaster at The Kiski School, said trustees at the all-boys boarding school in Loyalhanna Township recently approved a tuition “reset” that will lower the sticker price from $61,300 this year to $48,500 in 2020-21.

Kiski officials also lowered tuition for day students by 20 percent to $28,500 next year.

Brueningsen said the move means tuition at Kiski will be approximately 20 percent below the national average for boarding schools.

He said the decision reflects the realization that tuition growth has dramatically outstripped the growth in household income across the country and led to sticker shock that has deterred many from considering the advantages of such schools.

“Over the past decade, the average tuition at boarding schools has increased over 50% while median household income, adjusted for inflation, has risen only 4%. There are fewer and fewer families who can afford to pay $60,000 a year,” he said.

He hopes the new tuition rate, coupled with generous financial aid packages, will make the school attractive to more families. The sprawling campus above the Kiski River now enrolls 187 boys in grades 9 through 12.

The financial aid packages that the school extended to 72% of its students averaged about $40,300 this year.

“Our recently-completed $35 million capital campaign together with ongoing fundraising efforts for scholarship support puts Kiski in a strong position to implement this new initiative. Coupled with our continued commitment to need-based financial aid, we’ll be able to offer real affordability for our families and more transparency in our pricing,” Brueningsen said.