A twisted three-way tuition transaction

amother

OP ↓

Yesterday at 11:38 pm

While we're on the subject of tuition and teachers who are underpaid....Here is my story:

Several years ago, the school I was teaching at fell behind in their payments. First they missed one month, then another and then another. Soon they were five months behind. None of the teachers had been paid for five months.

We were trying to stay afloat on just my husband's Kollel stipend and whatever side jobs we had. But it came to a point where we couldn't pay the rent. Our landlord must have been very strapped for cash, because, if the rent was ever late by even one day, he would call and text and call and text. Yeah, it was all very stressful.

So that month, it was already a few days
late, and we simply had no idea how we were going to pay the rent. Our landlord was sending ever-increasingly urgent messages that the rent must be paid ASAP.

With no other recourse, my husband suggested that I call the principal of the school and explain the situation. Even if they couldn't pay the full amount that they owed me, maybe they would be able to give us partial payment to cover our rent.

So, I called the principal and explained the situation. He heard me out and was very sympathetic, but unfortunatly couldn't help me. Then, I don't remember if he asked me who my landlord was or if I volunteered the information, but suddenly he said, "Your landlord is Chaim Poritz*? He owes us a lot of money in tuition! I have an idea. We can do a 3-way arrangement. We will forgive the balance he owes us, and that money will go towards what we owe you, and that will cancel out what you owe in rent!"

Simply put, I was stunned.
So, basically, I couldn't pay my landlord because I wasn't getting paid from the school, who couldn't pay their teachers because of parents like my landlord who weren't paying their tuition!

So, I'm going to interrupt myself to just add that Mr. Poritz - whose daughter I taught the previous year- moved away that summer to another state. So his daughter was no longer in the school, yet he still had a large balance left over from the previous year.

My principal, who may have partially given up hope on getting that money from Mr. Poritz, suggested that I call him and ask if he would be amenable to a 3-way deal.

Truth be told, I was just a tad bit uncomfortable about making that call. To put it mildly. Firstly, I don't think my principal should have told me that a parent owes the school money. It's really not my business. Also, how am I supposed to tell Mr. Poritz that I know he owes money and suggest that we can make a 3-way deal? And what if he denies it? Or starts yelling at me? I just didn't have the chutzpah to do it. This Mr. Poritz was somewhat of an intimidating type of guy.

But, I gathered my courage and, after muttering a quick kapital of tehillim, made the call.

I said, "Well, Mr Portiz, I know we owe you for this month's rent, and we are already a few days late. But you see, Bais Sara* has been very behind in their payments, and I haven't gotten paid for over 5 months, so-"

I didn’t get any further before he interrupted me, by saying rather excitedly,
"Oh!! You know what? I owe Bais Sara money for tuition! Maybe we can do a 3-way deal!" (And I'm thinking, YES!! Thank you Hashem!)

Let me interject again to say that when Mr. Poritz moved to his new location, he wanted to enroll his daughter in a new school. But our school has a policy that they don't release end-of-year transcripts if the tuition balance had not been paid.

I guess every school has their way of trying to get parents to pay. Our school doesn't send kids home for lack of payment. But they won't release records if the parents owe money.

So the new school that Mr. Poritz was sending his daughter to was asking for the records, and the school would not release them. And this was causing him some trouble. I know this because he told me so.
But apparently, he simply didn't have the money to pay his tuition balance.

But, this idea of a 3-way transaction would finally get him off the hook, wipe his debt clean, he would get his daughter's transcripts, and shalom al Yisroel!

I was just grateful that I didn't have to tell him that I already knew about his debt. I let him think it was his brilliant idea. He said he would call the principal and make the arrangement.

And, as they say, kach hava (so it was).

And here's the best part: The amount that Poritz owed the school was almost the exact amount that the school owed me for 5 months of teaching. Although I never saw that money, it went towards paying my rent for that month and at least another two. (I can't remember exactly.) No money changed hands, but three separate parties benefited from this arrangement.

The rest of the teachers did eventually get paid, as far as I know, but many months later. I'm sure my principal was really happy to be able to collect payment from a parent who he likely despaired on ever receiving money from, and simultaneously cancel the debt he owed to one of his teachers. I know that it bothered him tremendously when we were not paid on time.

So that's my story.
Paying tuition is a big deal. Paying teachers is a big deal. Paying rent is a big deal.
And sometimes life is just funny when it all comes together like this.

*names changed, well...for obvious reasons.

amother

Razzmatazz

Today at 12:02 am

I'm curious how that was reflected on your W-2? You didn't get the paychecks..... but the IRS will still want their cut of the paychecks that didn't exist and you'll want your W-2 to reflect your actual salary when it comes time to apply for loans and such.

chili-n-cholent

Today at 12:04 am

Hey PKL, I loved the story!

amother

Violet

Today at 12:10 am

chili-n-cholent wrote:

Hey PKL, I loved the story!

And I was so excited to be the first to point it out!

Fantastic story!!

amother

↑ OP ↓

Today at 12:14 am

amother Razzmatazz wrote:

Good question. Unfortunately, I do not remember. This story happened many years ago. At least 15 (judging by how old my kids were at the time).

IF I recall correctly (a big IF), somehow the school gained on this because they had to pay less in taxes. I think it's similar to when they pay the teacher less while paying the teacher's children's tuition in other schools. I don't remember how that goes, but some schools do that and apparently it's above board.

amother

↑ OP ↓

Today at 12:15 am

chili-n-cholent wrote:

Hey PKL, I loved the story!

Thanks! It's funny, I don't think I ever told over this story, but this week's threads made me remember it.

BH Yom Yom

Today at 12:16 am

What a wild story!! Amazing how it worked out BH!

amother

Melon

Today at 12:17 am

amother OP wrote:

While we're on the subject of tuition and teachers who are underpaid....Here is my story:

Several years ago, the school I was teaching at fell behind in their payments. First they missed one month, then another and then another. Soon they were five months behind. None of the teachers had been paid for five months.

We were trying to stay afloat on just my husband's Kollel stipend and whatever side jobs we had. But it came to a point where we couldn't pay the rent. Our landlord must have been very strapped for cash, because, if the rent was ever late by even one day, he would call and text and call and text. Yeah, it was all very stressful.

So that month, it was already a few days
late, and we simply had no idea how we were going to pay the rent. Our landlord was sending ever-increasing urgent messages that the rent must be paid ASAP.

With no other recourse, my husband suggested that I call the principal of the school and explain the situation. Even if they couldn't pay the full amount that they owed me, maybe they would be able to give us partial payment to cover our rent.

So, I called the principal and explained the situation. He heard me out and was very sympathetic, but unfortunatly couldn't help me. Then, I don't remember if he asked me who my landlord was or if I volunteered the information, but suddenly he said, "Your landlord is Chaim Poritz*? He owes us a lot of money in tuition! I have an idea. We can do a 3-way arrangement. We will forgive the balance he owes us, and that money will go towards what we owe you, and that will cancel out what you owe in rent!"

Simply put, I was stunned.
So, basically, I couldn't pay my landlord because I wasn't getting paid from the school, who couldn't pay their teachers because of parents like my landlord who weren't paying their tuition!

So, I'm going to interrupt myself to just add that Mr. Poritz - whose daughter I taught the previous year- moved away that summer to another state. So his daughter was no longer in the school, yet he still had a large balance left over from the previous year.

My principal, who may have partially given up hope on getting that money from Mr. Poritz, suggested that I call him and ask if he would be amenable to a 3-way deal.

Truth be told, I was just a tad bit uncomfortable about making that call. To put it mildly. Firstly, I don't think my principal should have told me that a parent owes the school money. It's really not my business. Also, how am I supposed to tell Mr. Poritz that I know he owes money and that we can make a 3-way deal? And what if he denies it? Or starts yelling at me? I just didn't have the chutzpah to do it. This Mr. Poritz was somewhat of an intimidating type of guy.

But, I gathered my courage and, after muttering a quick kapital of tehillim, made the call.

I said, "Well, Mr Portiz, I know we owe you for this month's rent, and we are already a few days late. But you see, Bais Sara* has been very behind in their payments, and I haven't gotten paid for over 5 months, so-"

I didn’t get any further before he interrupted me, by saying rather excitedly,
"Oh!! You know what? I owe Bais Sara money for tuition! Maybe we can do a 3-way deal!" (And I'm thinking, YES!! Thank you Hashem!)

Let me interject again to say that when Mr. Poritz moved to his new location, he wanted to enroll his daughter in a new school. But our school has a policy that that don't release end-of-year transcripts if the tuition balance had not been paid.

I guess every school has their way of trying to get parents to pay. Our school doesn't send kids home for lack of payment. But they won't release records if the parents owe money.

So the new school that Mr. Poritz was sending his daughter to was asking for the records, and the school would not release them. And this was causing him some trouble. I know this because he told me so.
But apparently, he simply didn't have the money to pay his tuition balance.

But, this idea of a 3-way transaction would finally get him off the hook, wipe his debt clean, he would get his daughter's transcripts, and shalom al Yisroel!

I was just grateful that I didn't have to tell him that I already knew about his debt. I let him think it was his brilliant idea. He said he would call the principal and make the arrangement.

And, as they say, kach hava (So it was).

And here's the best part: The amount that Poritz owed the school was almost the exact amount that the school owed me for 5 months of teaching. Although I never saw that money, it went towards paying my rent for that month and at least another two. (I can't remember exactly.) No money exchanged hands, but three separate parties benefited from this arrangement.

The rest of the teachers did eventually get paid, as far as I know, but many months later. I'm sure my principal was really happy to be able to collect payment from a parent who he likely gave up hope on ever receiving money from, and simultaneously cancel the debt he owed to one of his teachers. I know that it bothered him tremendously when we were not paid on time.

So that's my story.
Paying tuition is a big deal. Paying teachers is a big deal. Paying rent is a big deal.
And sometimes life is just funny when it all comes together like this.

*names changed, well...for obvious reasons.

Wow. Ty for sharing this amazing story. So beautiful to see how Hashem orchestrated it without you being in the uncomfortable position.

amother

Mustard

Today at 4:00 am

amother Razzmatazz wrote:

My guess all the money “transferred hands” tax free which was to everyone (except uncle sams) advantage. Government wise it looks like everyone made less money that year.

amother

Indigo

Today at 4:04 am

chili-n-cholent wrote:

Hey PKL, I loved the story!

What's pkl

logical

Today at 4:24 am

I know of schools that have similar arrangements with each other - a teacher in school A has a child in school B, and a teacher in school B has a child in school A. schools A and B forgive those kids tuition payments, and subtract that amount from the teachers' paychecks. if they get caught legally, they can say - "we support other schools that give free schooling to children in the area"

amother

Fuchsia

Today at 7:10 am

logical wrote:

That's can be entirely legal if done correctly. It's considered QTR

sweetpotato

Today at 8:11 am

Amazing story and it shows how interconnected and interdependent we are.

amother

↑ OP ↓

Today at 9:42 am

amother Melon wrote:

Wow. Ty for sharing this amazing story. So beautiful to see how Hashem orchestrated it without you being in the uncomfortable position.

Yes, that was an added bonus. It could have been much stickier if he knew that the principal shared sensitive information with me.

amother

Molasses

Today at 9:50 am

It could have been problematic if the money wasn't there.
Say he made a bad investment and lost the money and that's why he couldn't afford the tuition. But also at that time, he was relying on your rent to cover the mortgage of the rental.
It could have made him default on the mortgage causing a cascade of problems

amother

↑ OP ↓

Today at 10:00 am

amother Molasses wrote:

Also true.

Still...he'd have to be a special type of hypocrite to insist that I have to pay my debt when he knew that the reason I couldn't is because of people like him who didn't pay their debt.

I'm glad it all worked out as it did and he didn't lose the house. He ended up selling it shortly after and we moved to another place.

giftedmom

Today at 10:12 am

Great story! I love how it’s so typical our community and would never happen anywhere else. Mi keamcha yisroel!

amother

Milk

Today at 10:21 am

amother Fuchsia wrote:

That's can be entirely legal if done correctly. It's considered QTR

The school my husband works for does it.

amother

↑ OP ↓

Today at 10:41 am

giftedmom wrote:

Great story! I love how it’s so typical our community and would never happen anywhere else. Mi keamcha yisroel!

True. It could only happen in a community where everyone knows each other and is connected. If only the whole tuition crisis could be solved so easily. Wink

amother

Chartreuse

Today at 10:43 am

amother OP wrote:

That's like saying you're a hypocrite for insisting your school pay you when you owe your landlord money. How is he supposed to pay tuition when his tenants don't pay their rent?