Mystery donor aids academy

Page 2 of 2 -- As one of the oldest and largest US boarding schools, Phillips Exeter Academy is a fund-raising juggernaut. According to Boarding School Review, a company that assesses private schools, Phillips Exeter ranked first in endowment with $639 million in the kitty prior to this $25 million commitment. Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass., ranked second, with an endowment of $569 million for its 1,083 students. St. Paul's School in Concord, N.H., ranked fifth with $311 million and 515 students.

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Is it a case of the privileged becoming more privileged? Not according to Exeter Town Manager George Olson, who calls the town's relationship with the academy mutually beneficial.

''The value of having Phillips Exeter ranges far and wide," said Olson. ''From their willingness to help us with projects, to the obvious impact the institution has on the economy and the general ambiance of the community. The faculty participates in all aspect of the life of the town, and the chair of our board of selectmen works as a teacher there. There are 1,000 young people who would not be in our town as well as staff and visiting parents."

Phillips Exeter Academy is Exeter's largest taxpayer, paying $665,800 in 2004 property taxes. The academy also runs a long-standing cooperative program where public high school students can take academy classes. About nine to 10 Exeter High students take academy courses each year, ranging from economics to music to Russian.

Large endowments are needed, McGovern said, because independent school tuition rarely covers actual cost. According to the NAIS, which includes 1,200 independent schools and associations, tuition and fees covered only 51.9 percent of the cost to educate during the 2003-04 school year. On average, New England schools had larger endowments than schools in other regions, with an average of $29,660,057 per school in 2003-04, according to NAIS statistics.

At Phillips Exeter, annual tuition is $31,600 for boarding students and $24,400 for day students. Thirty-four percent receive financial aid, with a $25,000 average annual award, said Theisen.

The academy officially kicked off a $305 million capital campaign in October. In addition to the annual fund, which has exceeded 50 percent participation by alumni for 20 consecutive years, the campaign seeks to increase financial aid student percentages to 40 percent and to retain and recruit qualified staff. The other initiatives focus on improving the physical campus of 100 buildings by raising $95.5 million. There is the potential for a future $50 million donation, Theisen said.

For now, Theisen said, the faculty is savoring the $25 million jackpot.

''It was very exciting," Theisen said, ''for the faculty to hear that someone who went through the Exeter experience values the teaching, the coaching, the mentoring that took place during his years here."