You run a school in Florida. Fixed monthly cost is $5,238.00 for rent and utilities, $6,113.00 is spent in salaries and $1,219.00 in insurance. Also every student adds up to $105.00 per month in stationary, food etc. You charge $602.00 per month from every student now.

You are considering moving the school to another neighborhood where the rent and utilities will increase to $10,593.00, salaries to $6,493.00 and insurance to $2,327.00 per month. Variable cost per student will increase up to $153.00 per month. However you can charge $1,114.00 per student. At what point will you be indifferent between your current mode of operation and the new option?

1 answer

To find the point of indifference between the current operation and the new option, we need to calculate the total cost and revenue for both scenarios and set them equal to each other.

Current Operation:

  1. Fixed Costs:

    • Rent and utilities: $5,238.00
    • Salaries: $6,113.00
    • Insurance: $1,219.00

    Total Fixed Costs = \( 5,238 + 6,113 + 1,219 = 12,570 \)

  2. Variable Costs per Student: $105.00

  3. Revenue per Student: $602.00

Let \( n \) be the number of students.

  • Total Revenue = \( n \times 602 \)
  • Total Variable Costs = \( n \times 105 \)

Total Cost = Total Fixed Costs + Total Variable Costs = \( 12,570 + 105n \)

New Operation:

  1. Fixed Costs:

    • Rent and utilities: $10,593.00
    • Salaries: $6,493.00
    • Insurance: $2,327.00

    Total Fixed Costs = \( 10,593 + 6,493 + 2,327 = 19,413 \)

  2. Variable Costs per Student: $153.00

  3. Revenue per Student: $1,114.00

  • Total Revenue = \( n \times 1,114 \)
  • Total Variable Costs = \( n \times 153 \)

Total Cost = Total Fixed Costs + Total Variable Costs = \( 19,413 + 153n \)

Set the total revenue equal to total costs for indifference:

\[ 12,570 + 105n = 19,413 + 153n \]

Rearranging the equation:

\[ 12,570 - 19,413 = 153n - 105n \]

\[ -6,843 = 48n \]

\[ n = \frac{-6,843}{48} \]

\[ n = -142.56 \]

Since the number of students cannot be negative, this means that under the current costs and revenues of both scenarios, operating costs of the new option are always higher than the current one. Therefore, you’ll never be indifferent between the two options regardless of how many students you have; the new option is not financially viable compared to the current operation.

Thus, there is no point of indifference in this case.