Chinese School Hit by Large Rent Hike

Every Sunday for the last 25 years, University High School in Irvine has echoed with the chatter of Orange County students learning Chinese.

But now some parents wonder if the sound of their children carrying on this tradition will fall silent. Irvine Unified School District trustees voted this week to raise the rent for the 900-student Irvine Chinese School--by nearly 300%, according to Chinese School officials. But Irvine school officials put the increase at closer to 200%.

The increase will drive tuition so high that some parents fear the school will not survive, said parent Su-Suin Wu. The language school is not affiliated with the district.

Rising electricity costs and the expense of cleaning the classrooms housing the extracurricular activities prompted the fee increase, said Don Chadd, the district’s head of facilities.

Fee hikes affected 54 other nonprofit groups that rent school classrooms on evenings and weekends. But none of those organizations saw an increase as great as the Irvine Chinese School, which for years has paid less than other groups, Chadd said.

Districts across the county have raised their rates for similar reasons or are considering it. Capistrano Unified has increased rates, and Tustin Unified and Newport-Mesa Unified are considering such a move.

“It breaks my heart,” said Carolyn McInerney, an Irvine school board member who voted for the increase. “I know they’re providing rich cultural resources for our children, but, no matter what, we have to cover our costs.”

Parents--more than 100 of whom went to the Irvine school board meeting this week to protest--said the increase is too steep. The school district should be trying hard to support the program, they said.

“We are very disappointed by the board of education’s attitude,” said Diane Tang-Liu, president of the South Coast Chinese Cultural Assn., which operates the Irvine Chinese School. “We feel betrayed.”

Tang-Liu said officials at the language school know that fees must rise, but they want the board to phase in the increase so that parents aren’t hit with a big tuition increase all at once.

Parents now pay about $300 per year per child for three hours of classes each Sunday. In addition to the Chinese language, students can study calligraphy and martial arts.

Chinese School officials say preliminary calculations show that tuition would have to almost double to cover the increase.