In small schools with no board members, principals are often burdened with both teaching and administrative duties. In schools with 200 to 300 students, the administrative structure is often comparable to that of an accredited school. In schools with more than 500 students, the principal has educational and administrative duties comparable to those of a principal of a public high school. The funding of Chinese language schools generally comes from tuition and fundraising. Only a few schools, primarily those connected with religious organizations, are tuition-free.
School boards seek donations from local businesses, institutions, and individuals.
Schools also raise funds by sponsoring dinners, dance parties, picnics, and exhibits, and by selling gift certificates. Chinese language schools rely mainly on parent volunteers, who donate time and pool their skills to run the schools without financial compensation. In larger schools, there may not be enough parent volunteers to assume all the responsibilities of running the school. Under this plan, the workload is divided more evenly among all parents. Before the semester begins, the school board calculates the total hours of service needed to operate the school and divides the workload by the number of parents with children enrolled in the school.