Dear CAC Board of Directors,

The past 5 years have witnessed a considerable amount of political changes and these have lead to difficult economic conditions in Egypt. Yet, during that challenging period, CAC Parents accepted the continuous increase in tuition fees as a necessity to compensate for the declining number of students and to maintain the superior standards at CAC. Thanks to CAC’s Board of Directors’ support and its professional management of the situation this critical period has now passed without compromising CAC’s core values and mission.

However, with the recent currency devaluation, all self-paying families - which constitute a significant portion of the school, whose income is in Egyptian Pounds, are faced with a situation where tuition fees have more than doubled (in EGP), while economic and business conditions in Egypt have become ever more challenging.

We understand that CAC management operates under challenging conditions to recruit the best teachers to the school and that a high proportion of the school expenses are USD-based. However a third of the school expenses (such as buses, utilities, maintenance and some salaries) are in EGP. The devaluation of the Egyptian Pound by 100% means those expenses are 50% cheaper today, resulting in large scale savings for the school budget for the coming academic years. In addition, we strongly believe that the school board and senior management could still find ways to reduce its operating expenses and thus the increasing burden on families during this period. Furthermore, there have been some discussions to find some additional financial resources through an endowment fund and school donations and a cost reduction plan.

We worry that, in the coming few years, some families could decide to transfer their children out of CAC or decide not to join as new families which would, in turn, change the unique makeup of CAC student body and its social environment which we all appreciate.

In light of the above, we urge the Board of Directors of CAC to help alleviate the financial burden, predominantly on self-paying families during those very unusual times. We will not suggest a specific reduction in fees for next year, but would only ask that a reduction be proportionate to the savings the school has achieved this year.

Please find below a list of concerned CAC parents who have signed this petition.

Note to Parents: If you agree to the above, please sign the petition and write your child or children names under comments