16 August 2008

Dear Freehold Community,

We are pleased to announce that Registration for our Fall Quarter is now open. We are excited to offer two new classes: Theatrical Song Interpretation/Auditioning for the Musical Theater taught by Billie Wildrick and Crafting the Ten Minute Play taught by John Longenbaugh.

We are also announcing a new tuition pricing structure. Due to increased expenses and a desire to strive for parity of instructor salaries compared to other institutions, we found it necessary to increase our tuition overall. However, we also don't want to make it difficult for those with smaller incomes to take a class; so we have developed a two-tiered pricing structure. When you register, we will ask you to report the number of people living in your household (adults and children) and the gross annual income for your household for 2007 to determine which pricing tier you will be included in. This information is self-reported and no documentation is required initially, however, we may ask you to verify your income at any time.

We know that everyone has been hit hard by the growing inflation this summer and a great deal of consideration has gone into creating the new tuition pricing. Every month, management and the Board of Directors takes a close look at our expenses and makes adjustments as necessary, thereby continuing to run the organization as a 'very tight ship.' Freehold has made very minor increases to tuition over the years and some classes have had no increase. The cost of living has simply caught up with us and we are finding it necessary to earn additional income (tuition and rentals) as well as receive increased/new contributions in order to hold the line on expenses and to do better by our fabulous and talented instructors.

While no one likes to see prices increase, please know that your tuition payments are doing a lot of good. You are helping to keep amazing instructors teaching our classes (and keeping them living and performing in Seattle!) and you are helping to keep Freehold a financially healthy and sustainable organization.

The increases in tuition vary by class. Some class prices will not increase in Tier I (the first level of the two-tiered pricing system) but a majority of them will see a 3-4% increase from today's prices. The Tier II class prices will see a 14-16% increase from today's prices. The two tiers were determined using the King County household income levels as a guide, with our levels for Tier II being set well above the county median.

As a non-profit, even with the increases in tuition, Freehold is continuing to subsidize the full cost of the studio classes. In the past the classes have been subsidized as much as 35%, meaning that the tuition was only covering 65% of the actual cost of running a class. With the new pricing structure, Tier I tuition is being subsidized 25-30% and Tier II tuition is being subsidized 10-15%. The subsidized portion of all classes is covered by grants from foundations, corporations, and government agencies and by individual donations. We are extremely grateful to everyone who contributes to Freehold and continues to make the Studio Classes possible!

We hope you have an amazing quarter of learning and experience! Don't forget that if you register for class by 5pm on September 4, you will receive a 5% discount.

As part of the Freehold Community, your opinion is important and invaluable to us. If you have questions, concerns or comments about the new pricing structure – we want to hear from you! Please feel free to contact me (Angela@freeholdtheatre.org), or our Board President, Liza Comtois (Liza@freeholdtheatre.org) to discuss this new structure.

Sincerely,

Angela

Angela Luechtefeld
Managing Director