The state's private schools this year have had to increase financial aid to prevent an exodus of families that can no longer afford tuition.

While enrollment at private campuses appears to be holding fairly steady since last year, many schools are reporting substantial increases in financial aid awards.

Hawai'i's larger private institutions, including Punahou School, 'Iolani School and Mid-Pacific Institute, all report that enrollment has remained about the same since last year. But Roberta Bishop, associate director of the Hawaii Association of Independent Schools, said it may be too early to tell whether private schools are successfully weathering the economic slowdown.

"Anecdotally, we can't right now get a grip on what's happening. We've heard different things from different schools," Bishop said. "We don't know right now, and we should know more in the next month."

But it is clear that private schools are doling out more financial assistance .

"I think the common thing we are hearing is that schools are doing as much as they can to help families afford private education," Bishop said.

Yearly tuition at Hawai'i's top private schools can be as high as $16,000 or more.

Private schools traditionally account for about 18 percent of the total school enrollment in Hawai'i, with an estimated 39,344 students enrolled last year, a slight decline from the 2007-08 school year. That's compared with 177,871 students who attended public school.

Betty White, head of school for Sacred Hearts Academy, said applications for families requesting financial aid have increased by 25 percent since last year. And the school is putting about 10 percent more money into scholarships and aid, she said. The school has received several large donations that allowed it to increase its financial awards, she said.

"The families who have stepped forward and said they are experiencing some hard times, we've tried to help," White said.

It also appears that extended families, such as grandparents and aunties, are stepping forward to help keep kids in private school, she said.

'REVOLVING DOOR'

Earlier in the summer, White said the school was challenged by a constant "revolving door." Families would notify the school that they would be withdrawing their daughter because they could no longer afford private school. But the seat would be filled almost immediately by incoming applicants.

White said enrollment is about 1,070 students, which is where it has been for the past two years.

At Punahou, enrollment is about 3,760, which is considered full capacity for the school, said spokeswoman Carlyn Tani.

"We're really fortunate that the demand to attend Punahou has remained strong. The applications we received this year are in line with the prior five-year average," Tani said.

The school has seen a 14 percent increase this year in the number of financial aid applications, she said. The school increased its financial aid by 10 percent both this year and last year, Tani said.

"We are certainly sensitive to the impact of the economy on our families and as a result we've increased our financial aid significantly," she said.

The picture is about the same at 'Iolani School, where enrollment is about 17 students higher than it was last year at 1,859, said spokeswoman Cathy Lee Chong.

"In the big picture, it seems that families in general are willing to make education a priority," Chong said.

Chong said officials have seen an increased demand for financial aid, with an increase in the budget by 14 percent. Some schools, however, are feeling a definite impact from the slumping economy.

While enrollment is slightly up at Mid-Pacific Institute, the school did not increase its tuition by as much as it had in years past. The decrease in revenues, coupled with more financial aid giving, meant the school didn't give the same amount in pay increases to its staff as in previous years.

"Everyone got something, but it was nowhere near what we had hoped to do," said president Joe Rice.

FEWER AT DAMIEN

While the school saw about 150 fewer applicants this year, there was a higher percentage of students who accepted offers, he said. The school has an enrollment of 1,514, which is about 16 students more than the previous year, he said.

"I know that parents are making lots of sacrifices so their children can get a private school education," Rice said.

Damien Memorial School, saw a clear drop in enrollment this year from 516 last year down to 461 this year, said president Bernard Ho.

Of the parents who withdrew their sons from Damien, Ho said nearly all transferred their records to a public school.

"I think a significant portion (of departures) were over issues of continued financing of private school," Ho said. "It is certainly presenting some challenges with a tighter budgeting process."

The school, however, has seen an increase in private donations that are now being used to increase financial help to parents. About 44 percent of students at Damien receive some kind of aid, Ho said.

"Our school, by our mission, has always welcomed students from all economic status," Ho said. "It makes us happy that we can help them out."