Director's Wave | Volume 6 Edition 21

Vol 6 Ed 21 2025-2026 SY 6 March 2026 JU

6 March 2026

Dear CIS Community,

Something to Ponder

“Whatever women do, they must do twice as well as men to be thought half as good. Luckily, this is not difficult.” - Charlotte Whitton

Since the re-enrollment period commenced, I have been asked a few questions about school budgets. In this edition of the Director’s Wave, I aim to provide some additional clarity on the common questions asked regarding this increase.

What is the distribution of expenses?

• 65% of the school's expenses are staff salary and benefits. 35% of the school’s expenses include; utilities, rent,  maintenance, repairs, educational resources and materials, professional fees, insurance, Cayman Citizen Scholarship and depreciation.

What percentage of school income comes from tuition fees?

• Almost 95% of the school’s income comes from tuition fees. The remaining 5% comes from other sources such as school clubs, aftercare, and payment for online classes (noting that these are also expenses). Each year this decade the school has been able to increase the non-tuition sources of income and this trend will continue.

I have noticed that tuition fees increased at CIS, as well as other schools on island. Is this a recent trend? Is tuition going to increase each year?

• This is not a recent trend, though the percentage of tuition increases in schools have been typically higher over the past twenty years. The trends in education costs indicate a typical average of 5% increase in education costs each year, excluding inflation rates. The increase in CIS’ tuition fees from the 2025-2026 school year to the 2026-2027 school year is on average 3.2%. This is the lowest increase in fees in the 2020s.

Where does the increase in tuition go?

• The majority of fee increases go to enhance student programming, meet rising health insurance costs, rising cost of living, increasing fees to schools in light of recent legislation for work permit costs, and an attempt to remain competitive for talent within the education market on island and nominally competitive internationally. The remainder of the increase goes to address increased costs related to operations of the school, such as rising costs of third party contracts, and to ensure the school is able to have a reserve for capital improvements as well as an operation reserve.

If most of the school’s income comes from tuition, what is the projected enrollment for 2026-2027 school year?

• The projected enrollment is 980 for the 2026-2027 school year. Of note, due to discounted fees in cases of families having more than one child at the school, for example, the school’s income is not the equivalent of 980 multiplied by the requisite tuition fees.

CIS is one of the most expensive schools in the Cayman Islands; several other schools have a lower tuition. What contributes to CIS’ expense?

• The main items that contribute to CIS’ fees are a favourable teacher to student ratio, quality and breadth and depth of programming, rent, level of resources, cost of insurance, levels of professional developments, location, and facilities costs in general.

It is helpful to be aware of comparative information on school fees and other similar international schools?

• The chart below compares school fees in locations where families tend to move from to the Cayman Islands, as well as regional schools of similar enrollment and facilities. USD Exchange Rate as of 2 March 2026; Cost of Living Rank best on Numbeo and World Data Info; Consumer Prices including rent as of 2 March 2026 from Numbeo, Human Development Index (HDI) reported from United Nations. HDI is a country's achievement in three key aspects of human development - namely a long and healthy life, access to education, and a decent standard of living. It is based on a 0 to 1 scale and provides a better measure than merely income per capita.
  • Green Highlight = More Desirable Data Than The Cayman Islands / CIS.
  • Yellow Highlight = Data Comparable to the Cayman Islands / CIS.
  • Red Highlight = Data Less Desirable Than the Cayman Islands / CIS.

I trust the above information provides some additional insights regarding school fees. Please know that as per previous years, at the next FSA meeting a portion of the time will include a budget presentation.

Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend and international women’s day - sincerely,

Sincerely,

Jim

Jim Urquhart

Director - Cayman International School