BFS: Hours and Fees

All children enroll for a five-day week. Part-time students attend from 9am to 12:30pm. Full-day students attend from 9am to 3pm.

In the Sunshine Room, there are up to four part-time slots; the rest of the students attend full-day. Part-time Sunshine students may switch to full-day at any time.

The new Jitterbug Room offers both part-time and full-day slots. A maximum of 10 children in this room can be full-day. The rest are part-time. If fewer than 10 students in this room attend full-day, others can move up to full-day.

Fees (for 2008-2009 School Year)

	Jitterbug	Dragonfly, Sunshine, and Rainbow
Full Day Tuition	$1,270 per month	$1,060 per month
Half Day Tuition	$980 per month	$900 per month
Buyout Tuition Surcharge	$50 per month	$200 per month

Materials Fee	$250 per year
Bounced Check Fee	$30 per occurrence
Late Payment Fee	$30 per occurrence
Late Pickup Fee	$10 for the first 15 minutes and $5 for each additional 15 minutes after the scheduled pickup time
Missed Meeting Fee	$100 for the second and subsequent absences
Early Bird - Regular Use	$125 per month for 5 days a week, prorated for 1 to 4 days of use: $100 a month for 4 day a week usage, $75 a month for 3 day a week usage, etc.
After School - Regular Use	$250 per month for 5 days a week, prorated for 1 to 4 days of use: $200 a month for 4 day a week usage, $150 a month for 3 day a week usage, etc.
Early Bird - Ad Hoc	$8 per day
After School - Ad Hoc	$16 per day

General: All tuition and fees are completely nonrefundable once paid. Families will receive a monthly invoice itemizing that month's tuition and additional charges. Without exception, payments must be made by check. Include your child's name and the purpose of the payment on your checks. Please give payments to the Educational Director or leave them in one of the two locked check boxes at BFS. One is outside the school office on the lower level and the other is outside the Jitterbug classroom on the upper level. The Educational Director will issue a receipt for all payments.

Materials Fee: This is an annual fee. It is due Tuesday, September 2nd (the first day of school), and no later than Monday, September 8th.

Tuition: Tuition for September, January, and June has already been paid. Starting in October, payment is due between the first and sixth calendar day of each month. Starting on the seventh calendar day of each month, late payments will be charged the Late Payment Fee. Families who choose the Buyout option pay a tuition surcharge.

UPK Students: Students in Sunshine and Rainbow who are ages 3.9 - 4.8 by September 30th are reimbursed for part of each month's tuition (almost 1/3 of tuition, at present) through a grant from New York State that is administered by the New York City Department of Education. Reimbursements do happen, but not always in a timely way. Each family of a UPK student is responsible for paying the full tuition amount each month unless notified in writing, either by hard copy or email, to pay a smaller tuition payment in a given month.

Early Bird and After School: Regular users sign a written agreement, pay a lower charge than ad hoc users, and must pre-pay each month with tuition. In return for this discount, regular users agree to a 5- month commitment and cannot withdraw part way through the session. Refunds are not given for absence.

Using unscheduled days is considered ad hoc use. Ad hoc users are accommodated if space is available. Please talk to the Director the day before or early in the morning to check for available space. Fees for ad hoc use will be invoiced the following month.

Non-Participation Fee: Participating Member families who have not met standards of minimum participation after a warning are required to pay the monthly tuition surcharge then applicable to Buyout Members for their child's class, retroactive to the date non-performance began. These surcharges become part of tuition, and failure to pay any surcharge so assessed shall be grounds for involuntary separation of the member family following the procedures in our Policy on Involuntary Separation.

Missed Meeting Fee: All member families, including Buyout families, who miss more than one General Meeting are charged the missed meeting fee for any and all absences after the first. These fees become part of tuition, and failure to pay any surcharge so assessed shall be grounds for involuntary separation of the member family following the procedures in our Policy on Involuntary Separation. Written appeals can be made to the Steering Committee in cases when an absence was due to genuinely serious and unavoidable circumstances.

Late Pickup Fee: This applies to any pickup after 12:40 PM for part-time students, after 3:10 PM for full day students, or after 6 PM for After School students. All late pickups are charged as shown above and will be invoiced monthly. Payment must be made by check no later than the next school day. This policy is designed both to discourage late pickups and compensate teachers who must stay late. (Note: Late pickups are hard on children!)

Bounced Check Fee: Payment is due upon written notice that your bank has returned your check unpaid. If more than two instances occur, future payments must be made by bank check or money order.

Expense Reimbursement: Participating members may occasionally be asked to purchase materials or services for use by or for BFS. Since BFS is a nonprofit tax-exempt organization, purchases should be made using our New York State Tax Exempt Certificate, which can be obtained from the Educational Director or the Administrator. These expenses will be reimbursed upon submission of an Expense Reimbursement Request form and a receipt for the item(s) purchased.

Returning Member Deposit: Member families who plan on re-enrolling their child for the following school year will be required to sign a Statement of Agreement and provide the first of two deposit payments prior to the New Members Open House. The first deposit, usually due January 2nd, generally represents two months tuition at the rate for the following school year. The second deposit payment, usually due June 1st, represents a third month's tuition.

Enrolling a Sibling of a Current or Former BFS Student: Siblings of current and former BFS students will be given a seat at BFS prior to the New Admissions Lottery as long as seats are available in an age- appropriate classroom following the pre-enrollment of current students. Families who wish to enroll the sibling of a current or former BFS student need to submit the following to BFS prior to the New Members Admission Lottery: a completed application, a signed Statement of Agreement (obtained from the New Members Committee or the BFS Administrator), and the first of two deposit payments (generally representing two months' tuition at the rate for the following school year). The second deposit payment, usually due June 1st, represents a third month's tuition.

Withdrawals: If you withdraw your child for any reason, all tuition and fees paid up to the time of withdrawal are completely nonrefundable, as noted in your Statement of Agreement. In addition, if you withdraw on or after July 1st, your family is liable for tuition and other expenses for the balance of the school year unless and until a substitute member is enrolled. This policy is implemented to protect BFS from financial hardship.