This is in response to the 2 emails recently received in regards to our personal posting of money owed.  We apologize for the delay in responding, it has been very hectic these past two weeks.  Please bear with us as this will be a lengthy response letter.

First we thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and opinions as we do care greatly about the feelings and well being of all of our families.  These emails came from people we greatly respect, with children we love so their comments hold great merit.  We are firm believers that if one person is unhappy about something, most likely others are too.  So please know that we have taken your comments very seriously and are seeking to reconcile this matter.  We sincerely apologize to anyone who may have been offended or upset regarding this matter and as you can see have since removed the postings from the bulletins.

Per request from many families who find it easier and more convenient to simply ask Heather for their totals for everything rather than figure it out themselves, we compiled without much thought.  In addition to that we had hoped it would help to alleviate incorrect payment amounts, countless phone inquiries, many interruptions from teaching, and simply just getting people to catch up on their bills.  Please know we never truly intended to hurt or upset anyone.  We hope the additional following thoughts and reasoning will also help you better understand our position in terms of bill collecting.

From month to month, year to year, we are continually having to carry many families throughout the season which puts a huge financial strain on us personally.  Like most of you we too are just your average family trying to make ends meet with crazy schedules, day to day dilemmas, and mountains of bills ourselves.  We hope you can understand how this directly affects us personally.  Every month we find ourselves having to dig into our own pockets to cover for those unable to.  We try to do what every other business does in regards to billing.  We send out monthly bills, post general reminders, add late fees in hopes of deterring delinquency, offer charge card options, remind students privately for their parents to come in, and offer weekly payment plans for those that need it.  What more can we do?  It was suggested that we send out personal emails or make phone calls but how is that any different than sending out monthly bills?  With so many people owing money we would be on the computer for days upon days.  As mentioned earlier Heather does everyone the favor of spending countless hours figuring out each students individual bills from tuition, to costumes, competition fees, choreography fees, accessories and more.  The amount of hours she spends to save everyone the hassles of figuring it out themselves goes above and beyond her duties!!! Everyone has become very dependent upon her which is certainly demanding to say the least.  She cannot be in the office 24/7 and we cannot stop our classes as teachers to check your accounts.  Now that we will no longer post them, people will have to take more responsibility in figuring out what they owe.  We will also now have to follow through on the rules that if your bills aren't paid and up to date, you will not be allowed to enter competition or participate in the recital.  We post that but have yet to follow through because we hate to punish the child.  Unfortunately we are forced to make these decisions as a last resort.  Regardless of whether or not the bills are paid on time we still have to pay ours.  We wish we could call these costume companies and competitions and say "Hey, we need you to send out our costumes right away, but we can't pay until August or September, that's o.k. right?"  Or calling ADA and letting them know what we have collected $6,000.00 of the $16,000.00 that we owe for entry fees but hope they'll take our word for it, (exactly the situation we are currently in at the moment.)  Once again we had to pay the full amount out of our own personal pockets to cover.  Another example that happens each year and occurred just this past month is several students dropping out without even notifying us, never having paid their tuition, competition or costumes.  Who is stuck with those bills?  We are, with very little hope of ever seeing that money.  One student's bill was $768.00!!! Now add that to all the previous competitions, conventions and costumes yet to have been paid and imagine what that total is!  Its staggering!!

Over the years we feel as though our generosity and compassion for our students has been greatly abused.  In most cases we never fully collect all the money due yet continue to allow the students to return year after year.  A valid point was made that businesses such as the electric, fuel and phone companies would never publicly post personal bills which is true, but let's face it, they don't have to.  They just shut everything off.  For us that would be equivalent to closing our doors to your child, not allowing them to take class until the bill was paid.  Believe it or not there are schools out there that do exactly that.  We could never in a million years do that to a child, it's just not who we are and what we are about.  These kids become a part of us and we form bonds that last a lifetime.  To turn a child away would break our hearts just as much as theirs.

Each year this problem escalates more and more to the point where we struggle at times just to keep our doors open.  We've worked so hard for so many years to establish an environment where children can feel safe and part of an extended loving family all the while getting quality training.  A home away from home with people who genuinely care about your child.  It will be such a shame if we couldn't continue, but with the economy the way it is today and the struggles that the average family and small business faces, we are finding it more and more difficult each season. 

If you have any alternate ideas or suggestions, please feel free to share it with us, we are desparate.  Thank you again for letting us know, we could not be successful if it were not for parents like yourselves who take the time to bring things to our attention. 

Sincerely, Alison & Lisa