Bobby Lent decided the best gift he could give Kehillah Jewish High School was the gift that kept giving. And giving. And giving.
Lent, a successful Silicon Valley businessman and venture capitalist, decided the best way to “put some jet fuel” into the nascent San Jose high school’s tank would be to put some money back into prospective parents’ pockets.
His plan: a voucher program for the school’s opening class that subsidizes half of students’ tuition costs throughout all four years of high school, and then rewards them with $5,000 toward college. With anywhere from 20 to — Lent hopes — 60 freshman starting at Kehillah in September and tuition hovering around $18,000, the Hillsborough resident estimates his gift will run at least $1 million.
To Lent, however, it’s more than a gift. It’s an experiment.
After reviewing a number of tuition-reducing measures undertaken around the nation, Lent and his wife, Fran, figured that a significant voucher from an outside organization — in this case, the Levine-Lent Family Foundation — would have the greatest impact on families and students.
“The family that receives it needs to recognize that they’re getting a gift. We want to make sure that the child understands that this is a gift to them in particular,” he said. “But the family also needs to buy in. They need to make a significant enough contribution themselves, relative to their means, that they will be committed to the education of their child and committed to the mission of the school.”
Lent is quick to remind, however, that receiving the need-blind voucher won’t disqualify low-income families from seeking further financial aid.
Furthermore, Lent is encouraging wealthier families to accept the vouchers and then contribute an equal amount back to the school.
“That’s double duty for the school; it increases the amount of money they’re raising. It’s a real win-win,” he said. “I believe that Jews who are on the wealthier side will do what they think is right.”
Kehillah officials called the Levine-Lent foundation’s Chalutz (pioneer) Class Voucher program a “terrific gift” and said it should be a huge recruiting tool for the school.
“This is going to make a huge difference to those first families,” said Len Lehmann, the school’s vice president. “Private high school is expensive, and the $18,000 initial tuition is a lot for families. So we really welcome this voucher program from the Lents.”
Lent, who has been working with Kehillah since its first formative meetings 2-1/2 years ago, has given time and money to help support six or seven other Bay Area Jewish schools. And while he’s happy to help Kehillah get off the ground, he hopes the voucher program will create larger waves around the country.
“If this is a good investment, I’d like to [document] why and get other people to invest the same way. The idea is to get multiplication out of our efforts,” he said. “In my estimation, and in the estimation of several other philanthropists from the Bay Area, about one-and-a-half billion dollars is being spent on Jewish education across the nation. But I think about a billion is missing.
“In order to show other philanthropists how a program can have an impact, you need to have data,” he continued. “If I can create 100 million dollars in additional investments, that, to me, would be a real victory.”
On the other hand, however, Lent can’t ignore the short-term pride of helping Kehillah get off the ground.
“On the first day of school, to see all the kids there,” he said, “That’ll be the big payoff.”