Conclusions/Recommendations

Based on the industry data, competitive assessment, and survey results outlined in this report, the
following conclusions have been developed:

Overall:

We find it feasible for Salt Lake Lutheran High School to relocate their high school to a location in the
Riverton area. There is an estimated market demand of 53 students per grade currently at the prevailing
market tuition rates. Private schools average about 13 students per classroom, so 53 students per grade
is more than sufficient to create at least two classrooms for each grade, which would be the minimum
number of students required to provide adequate financial resources necessary to operate a quality high
school.

Recommendations:

If Salt Lake Lutheran High School decides to proceed with relocating the high school to Riverton, the
following recommendations are made:

Number of Students. While there are some advantages to having a small number of students at Salt
Lake Lutheran High School, both current parents and church member parents recognize and prefer that
Salt Lake Lutheran High School have more students. When current parents were asked about the ideal
number of students at Salt Lake Lutheran High School, only one parent said less than 100, and most
parents said between 150 and 300 students. Current students also said the school was too small and
needed more students.

There are many advantages to having more students at Salt Lake Lutheran High School, and parents felt
that more students would provide additional opportunities, such as: more classes, advanced placement
classes, more sports, more extracurricular activities, greater diversity, and greater socialization
opportunities. Parents were also clearly aware of the financial issues related to the small number of
students and the need to have more students for financial reasons.

Underlying all of these reasons to increase the number of students is confidence in Salt Lake Lutheran
High School. The small number of students at Salt Lake Lutheran High School does not inspire
confidence in the school or the future of the school. There are church member parents who are unwilling
to consider the school because they are concerned about the viability of the school. Even some current
parents are questioning whether they will continue to enroll their students at Salt Lake Lutheran High
School.

Relocating Salt Lake Lutheran High School in its current size and format would not be enough to reverse
this crisis of confidence. If Salt Lake Lutheran High School relocates, the school must have more students
to be successful.

Every aspect of relocating the school including the facilities, academics, programs, staff, marketing,
and recruiting must all be planned and executed to serve a significantly higher number of students than
current efforts. Everyone involved with the future of Salt Lake Lutheran High School must be able to see
a vision for the relocated school that is transformational. Making incremental improvements on the way
things are done currently will not be successful at the new location.

Salt Lake Lutheran High School 2010 Market Feasibility Study

149
Conclusions/Recommendations

Marketing. Whether Salt Lake Lutheran High School remains in the current location, or relocates, there
are three significant marketing challenges that must be addressed: increasing awareness, establishing
an image, and higher-quality marketing and communication.

Salt Lake Lutheran High School has very low awareness in the community. All of the other high schools
included in the study have significantly higher unaided awareness. Even when specifically asked if they
had heard of Salt Lake Lutheran High School, only one in four community members said they heard of
the school. It is essential to increase the awareness of Salt Lake Lutheran High School because parents
who have not heard of Salt Lake Lutheran High School cannot consider Salt Lake Lutheran High School
for their children. To be successful, Salt Lake Lutheran High School must increase their awareness to
levels similar to that noted for other high schools.

Not only does Salt Lake Lutheran High School have low awareness, but for those who have heard of
Salt Lake Lutheran High School, only two out of three people can name any words to describe Salt Lake
Lutheran High School. The most common words used to describe Salt Lake Lutheran High School were
private school, religious, and small. However, several people also described Salt Lake Lutheran High
School as new, under-funded, overly conservative, too small, and no different than public school, which
are not necessarily desirable or accurate words.

Salt Lake Lutheran High School must determine what image they want to communicate to the community,
and actively work to establish that image in the community. Generally, most high schools will have an
image related to academics, athletics, or the environment of the school (such as religious). Defining an
image for Salt Lake Lutheran High School should be based on the internal strengths and values of the
school; it comes from within and should not be based on what competing high schools are doing. The
image must be focused and specific, so that when the community is asked what words they would use
to describe Salt Lake Lutheran High School, everyone names the same two or three words. This does not
mean that Salt Lake Lutheran High School only does these two or three things, but that everyone knows
Salt Lake Lutheran High School does those two or three things.

While the image of Salt Lake Lutheran High School will not be determined by competing high schools,
the marketing and communication of Salt Lake Lutheran High School must be competitive with the
other high schools. The current materials and Web site for Salt Lake Lutheran High School contain the
essential information parents and students need, but the presentation is amateurish compared to the
other high schools. All marketing and communication materials for Salt Lake Lutheran High School must
be comparable in appearance and quality to the other high schools.

2010 Market Feasibility Study Salt Lake Lutheran High School

150
 Conclusions/Recommendations

Business Plan. If Salt Lake Lutheran High School decides to proceed with relocating the high school, the
next step is to develop a business plan.

The business plan for the new Salt Lake Lutheran High School must start from scratch to develop a
financial model that reflects the realities of the new location/building costs, staffing and delivery costs
to serve more students, and a diversity of income sources. This market feasibility study can serve as the
basis for the business plan, and many of the estimates in terms of number of students and tuition can be
drawn directly from this report.

When asked about tuition levels, most community parents and church member parents interested in Salt
Lake Lutheran High School were comfortable with tuition levels up to $10,000. Market demand when
tuition levels go over $10,000 drops significantly and would reduce enrollment to a level that would not
be feasible. However, this does not mean that Salt Lake Lutheran High School cannot increase tuition
from current levels. Currently, tuition at Salt Lake Lutheran High School is the second lowest among the
six high schools examined in this study, and there is room to increase tuition, remain price competitive
with the other high schools, and not exceed $10,000.

The business plan should also include a break-even analysis to determine the exact number of students
needed for the high school to operate at without a loss. The break-even analysis will consider income
and expenses for the high school to pinpoint the number of students the high school will need to enroll
for financial sustainability.

Salt Lake Lutheran High School 2010 Market Feasibility Study

151