Most major private schools in Hawai'i will raise tuition next school year to offer teachers competitive salaries, pay for investments in technology and improve campuses.

Many of the schools have already announced tuition hikes of more than 6 percent, meaning parents will have to dish out up to $1,160 more for their children's education.

Punahou School will raise its K-12 tuition to $15,725 for 2007-08, a 6.8 percent increase over the current school year, or $1,000 more.

'Iolani School increased its tuition by 6.9 percent to $14,000, a $900 increase.

The Mid-Pacific Institute and Manoa Valley school are expected to have similar hikes.

Tuition generally does not include other required fees for field trips and other programs that can add $1,000 or more.

Hawai'i Preparatory Academy on the Big Island will likely remain one of the priciest private schools in the state. The academy is waiting for all parents to receive tuition notices before disclosing its numbers, but spokeswoman Phyllis Kanekuni said tuition at the school, which ranges from $12,750 to $16,350, will go up.

Officials said the higher tuition is unavoidable, and that it will allow schools to retain good teachers by awarding them better pay and benefits, cover ongoing costs of integrating technology into the curriculum and improve facilities.

"It's an investment that we feel is absolutely critical," said Laurel Husain, communications director for Punahou.

Private school tuition also rose in the Islands last year, following a national trend that has seen independent institutions becoming more expensive. On average, private school tuition has shot up about 32 percent in the past decade, according to the National Association of Independent Schools. But across Hawai'i, parents seem to be willing to spend more money to educate their kids as enrollment has been steady or rising.

To offset the costs to parents, schools have been focusing on fundraising to provide more financial aid and other assistance. At Saint Louis School, about half of the $1.7 million raised last year went toward student aid, said Darcie Yukimura, the school's director of communications.

At Punahou, 11 percent of the school's students get tuition help, Husain said.

"We anticipate that our growth in the financial aid budget will match our tuition increase," she said. "We do have a commitment to that."