Being sued by our Catholic School

[stioffan]

All of your answers have been greatly appreciated. An update to this is that the lawsuit is going to be pulled. This happened after I made enough people hear me after the parish priest decided to turn his back on this matter. Two wonderful nuns were appalled by these tactics, and have helped get this matter resolved.

To those that are siding with the school, I could write a novel based upon preceding events that may have caused this action by the school. But we are talking about a Catholic school, where the education and welfare of the children should come before the money anyway. See my other posted question to get an idea of what I am talking about: forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=129082

I understand the difficulty the schools have with people not paying, however we were in a verbal agreement that we could pay what we could afford and then complete payment on receiving our taxes. We were paying as much as $150.00/month. And it is for this current school year. This school does not have the same monetary problems as many catholic schools in the country. You see this school is in a very prominent and above median income area (except for me of course!).

The bottom line is that this school is not being run like a catholic school, it is being run more as a private school for the wealthy families of our town.

Thanks to all who replied. God Bless you all.

Stioffan

 

[stioffan]

Looks Like I will have to put on my accounting hat now.

If you are getting that much at year end to pay for the tuition, then you should change your withholdings so you don’t get back so much at year end.

If you have discipline problems regarding savings, maybe you could have a portion of your pay check deposited into a separate bank account so that you will use to it to only pay tuition.

Dave Bebyn CPA

Thanks for the advice, but you see that We were married in and had a baby in 2006, so you can see where the big refund came from.

Oh and not to put a whole lot of blame on my new son, but we were busy doting over him to notice a whole lot of other things around us. Like I said that Verbal agreement, whether it was right or not, had been made ten days before the baby was born. This business manager lied to my face and said my wife made no such promise. He also told me I made no such promise. This is a person that goes to Mass on Sunday.

God forgive him

Stioffan

 

[Brenda_V]

Like I said that Verbal agreement, whether it was right or not, had been made ten days before the baby was born. This business manager lied to my face and said my wife made no such promise. He also told me I made no such promise. This is a person that goes to Mass on Sunday.

God forgive him

Stioffan

Take this as an indication that you need to get any promises/agreements in writing from now on. Not just for and from the school but also in other financial arrangements you have with others .

Brenda V.

 

[cathologos]

You also need to get your stepdaughter into a different school.

You’ve had issues with the composition of the faculty. You’ve had problems with material available in the library. Now you’re having problems with the school’s management. I don’t see much reason to continue your relationship with this institution. Meet your financial obligations to them, and move on.

Find another school, and move your stepdaughter to that school - for next September, if not sooner.

If you can’t afford the financial obligations of a Catholic school, or cannot make suitable arrangements - in advance, before you enroll - with the pastor in charge of such a school, then send your kids to public school.

 

[nana3]

All of your answers have been greatly appreciated. An update to this is that the lawsuit is going to be pulled. This happened after I made enough people hear me after the parish priest decided to turn his back on this matter. Two wonderful nuns were appalled by these tactics, and have helped get this matter resolved.

To those that are siding with the school, I could write a novel based upon preceding events that may have caused this action by the school. But we are talking about a Catholic school, where the education and welfare of the children should come before the money anyway. See my other posted question to get an idea of what I am talking about: forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=129082

I understand the difficulty the schools have with people not paying, however we were in a verbal agreement that we could pay what we could afford and then complete payment on receiving our taxes. We were paying as much as $150.00/month. And it is for this current school year. This school does not have the same monetary problems as many catholic schools in the country. You see this school is in a very prominent and above median income area (except for me of course!).

The bottom line is that this school is not being run like a catholic school, it is being run more as a private school for the wealthy families of our town.

Thanks to all who replied. God Bless you all.

Stioffan

Stioffan
I can understand totally. As I have a dd in Catholic School. We have been always able to pay our tuition, but my sister whose husband left her and not not paying child support has two children in the same school. She is on a scholarship and pays less than the normal tuition, it is still too much for her. She is trying to study full time and my parents pay all her expenses so that she get a career and not have to depend on her ex for financial support. I help out as much as I can and have paid her childrens’ tuition for two months. The school seems uncaring about her sitution. If my parents pay for the school lunches for the two and one gets sick and misses two days of school, the school does not credit those two days. In fact one day when my sister forgot to send lunch with her son, the school did provide him lunch, but then hounded her about paying the $2.50 she owed. She didn’t have the money. She asked them to use the money for the past week where her son missed two days of school and they said they don’t do that there. I had to pay this amount. This school also has many very well to do families and don’t seem to like the ones that are their with financial support from him. It has become a private school as you said. This is the reason our dd will not be going there next year. The school is not exactly “Catholic” either. They are a blue ribbon school and are so proud of that. It is an excellent academic school, but only teach about half an hour of religion a week. The teachers can’t give what they don’t have either. I have had to correct some teachers on exactly what the Church teaches and the principal. They would not listen and in fact said they will not change anything, even when even proof, until the pastor said so. I went to the pastor and he agreed that their teaching was wrong. I did it in the most loving way I could too. I tried to act dumb on the matter, but when I got an even dumber answer from them, I mentioned that I would research it and get back to them. I did and gave them evidence, but it was not good enough. This school has become private and Catholic is just a part of the name of the school. Yes, money sometimes is more important to them than the families. I do understand they need the money to survive, but they collect lots from the two major fund raisers we have to participate in. They do well.

 

[jrabs]

To those that are siding with the school, I could write a novel based upon preceding events that may have caused this action by the school. But we are talking about a Catholic school, where the education and welfare of the children should come before the money anyway.

You see this school is in a very prominent and above median income area (except for me of course!).

The bottom line is that this school is not being run like a catholic school, it is being run more as a private school for the wealthy families of our town.

Stioffan,
This post baffles me a bit. It sounds as if you think the school should turn their back on your obligation for XYZ reason. Primarily because the school is obligated to place education before bill paying.

How so? How does a school stay open if that were the case? It is not a charity.

You sent your children to this school with the intended exchange of tuition for services. The school IS a private school, they can charge what they want, but if you enroll, you are obligated to pay on time barring a written statement of alternative payment methods.

I’d pay your bill and move on to a different school next year.

 

[dympnha]

First, I have to say that my family has been through rough financial waters before and so I sympathize with you. BUT based on what I’ve read here I have to side with the school. In the 50s a parish could afford to carry a family having financial problems in the name of charity. The church in America is not in the financial position to do that now. A lot of parishioners, especially the elderly and and singles resent having to pay for their parish school and give nothing or little.

Charity is wonderful but a school runs on money. The janitor needs to be paid. The teachers are lay people living in the world instead of nuns and they need to be paid. The utiltites need to be paid. The books have to purchased, the computers, gym equipment and stuff for science class need to be bought with money, not good wishes. The money comes from tuition.

 

[kell0618]

Our school recently went to a program of autopayment through an outside agency. We were told that if a payment would be short before they did the electronic withdrawal, we were to call and talk to our priest who would notify the company to delay the payment for one week.

Though Catholic education is a ministry of our faith, we need to realize that the bills that the school administration receives (gas, water, sewer, electric, salaries, health insurance, supplies, etc) are real ones. They have a clear due date and must be paid on time so that the school is not smacked with a late fee.

We were plagued prior to the new program for payment with a regular group of parents who ‘forgot’ to pay or just were a bit short for the month. Our priest would have to ‘rob Peter’ to ‘pay Paul’, shorting our parish of needed funds in order to subsidize these parents. At some point, something has to give.

If we make our car payments, house payments, credit card payments, etc. on time, we have an obligation to be certain our schools are taken care of as well. It is not my intention to sound harsh, but to be truthful. Perhaps there is a need to reprioritize your needs and wants and be sure you are willing to sacrifice fun stuff so that your children can receive a quality faith-filled education.

God’s blessings,

Kelly

 

[buffalo]

Stioffan,
This post baffles me a bit. It sounds as if you think the school should turn their back on your obligation for XYZ reason. Primarily because the school is obligated to place education before bill paying.

How so? How does a school stay open if that were the case? It is not a charity.

You sent your children to this school with the intended exchange of tuition for services. The school IS a private school, they can charge what they want, but if you enroll, you are obligated to pay on time barring a written statement of alternative payment methods.

I’d pay your bill and move on to a different school next year.

Catholic schools are a works of charity.

 

[jrabs]

Catholic schools are a works of charity.

I think you are mistaking a certain misguided attitude about what some people may think a Catholic school is.

No - they are a ministry with an educational base. People who send their children to them are entering into a contract to pay for an exchange of services.

Under he IRS code, they would not be considered a charity.

 

[buffalo]

I think you are mistaking a certain misguided attitude about what some people may think a Catholic school is.

No - they are a ministry with an educational base. People who send their children to them are entering into a contract to pay for an exchange of services.

Under he IRS code, they would not be considered a charity.

We are not talking IRS code here. The point is most parishes invest in their Catholic Schools through the Sunday offering which is tax deductible. A portion of this is sent on to the school.

 

[jrabs]

We are not talking IRS code here. The point is most parishes invest in their Catholic Schools through the Sunday offering which is tax deductible. A portion of this is sent on to the school.

That is true - however we are talking about 2 different funding sources here provided by 2 different groups of people.

I am talking of the parents sending their children to the school. They may feel the largest individual burden, though they willingly take that on when they enroll their children in the school.

With that, they are obligated to pay on a timely schedule if no alternative has been arranged. Plain and simple - like any other responsibility in your life.

It is a pity that many who would prefer to send their kids to Catholic schools cannot afford to but it is the reality of today. I also think that many schools have had problems in the past due to lax payments of tuition from parents thinking the schools first duty is education and charity - payment of such can just wait.

 

[Catholic90]

We are not talking IRS code here. The point is most parishes invest in their Catholic Schools through the Sunday offering which is tax deductible. A portion of this is sent on to the school.

A portion, maybe. Not always, though. We have watched our parish’s portion to our school get smaller and smaller. The bills are still there! Depends on the parish as to how much is given.

The difference between the ‘portion’ and the bills the school then owes (salaries, utilities, etc) is the tuition. If the parents don’t pay, where does the money come from? What bill should the school skip paying, since they don’t have the money? Which teacher should not get paid that month?

If the parent agreed to send the child to Catholic school, then they should pay the tuition.

 

[buffalo]

A portion, maybe. Not always, though. We have watched our parish’s portion to our school get smaller and smaller. The bills are still there! Depends on the parish as to how much is given.

The difference between the ‘portion’ and the bills the school then owes (salaries, utilities, etc) is the tuition. If the parents don’t pay, where does the money come from? What bill should the school skip paying, since they don’t have the money? Which teacher should not get paid that month?

If the parent agreed to send the child to Catholic school, then they should pay the tuition.

And the epidemic closings are a result of this higher tuition.

To keep Catholic education affordable it is necessary to return again to total parish stewardship. Some parents get into financial trouble after agreeing to the tuition (sickness, loss of job, hardship, etc…) We should help them not send collection agencies after them.

 

[decn2b]

I First off Catholic Elementary Education is an investment made by all the faithful.

.

I subusidize my Diocesan Catholic Schools and the nearest Catholic Elementary School is 100 miles away. I have 4 kids age 3-9. Private Catholic education is of NO benefit to my family.

 

[Catholic90]

And the epidemic closings are a result of this higher tuition.

To keep Catholic education affordable it is necessary to return again to total parish stewardship. Some parents get into financial trouble after agreeing to the tuition (sickness, loss of job, hardship, etc…) We should help them not send collection agencies after them.

But if the parishes do not have the money due to lack of plate collections, where does all this magic money come from?

Our plate collections are WAY down, due to economics, people moving on, etc. How can the parish subsidize a school when the parish has no money to do so?

Several new Catholic schools have opened their doors in my metro area in the past few years. These are not inexpensive schools, either! So, people are willing to pay for education. But the key is they have to pay.

 

[jrabs]

And the epidemic closings are a result of this higher tuition.

To keep Catholic education affordable it is necessary to return again to total parish stewardship. Some parents get into financial trouble after agreeing to the tuition (sickness, loss of job, hardship, etc…) We should help them not send collection agencies after them.

Well, that sounds great but not practical in parishes today that do not teach tithing or personal responsibility (and what parish does?)

I do not send my children to Catholic schools because I know ahead of time I cannot afford them - want to, but I know my tight budget does not allow me to be irresponsible in my obligations to other creditors.

I take obligations very seriously - that may be the failings of some others.

Is it possible hardships are brought on by over obligating?

How can I, in good conscience, send my children to Catholic schools, with the best of intentions mind you - then get myself into financial hardship by that very act of sending my kids to Catholic schools and expect the parish to bail me out?
Let alone just stop paying.

That is not fair, responsible or kind to those around me.

 

[buffalo]

I subusidize my Diocesan Catholic Schools and the nearest Catholic Elementary School is 100 miles away. I have 4 kids age 3-9. Private Catholic education is of NO benefit to my family.

It is to your Catholic family as well as the common good.

 

[buffalo]

But if the parishes do not have the money due to lack of plate collections, where does all this magic money come from?

Our plate collections are WAY down, due to economics, people moving on, etc. How can the parish subsidize a school when the parish has no money to do so?

I don’t buy it. Plate collections are down due to choices.

**Why Catholics Don’t Give And What Can Be Done About It (Hardcover) **

In this book is an interesting phnonema. The more a Catholic makes the less as a percentage of income they give. It’s a shame. The highest givers make less than 25,000 per year.

It seems Catholics as well as others make daily choices that favor materialism and not the Church.

 

[buffalo]

Well, that sounds great but not practical in parishes today that do not teach tithing or personal responsibility (and what parish does?)

I do not send my children to Catholic schools because I know ahead of time I cannot afford them - want to, but I know my tight budget does not allow me to be irresponsible in my obligations to other creditors.

I take obligations very seriously - that may be the failings of some others.

Is it possible hardships are brought on by over obligating?

How can I, in good conscience, send my children to Catholic schools, with the best of intentions mind you - then get myself into financial hardship by that very act of sending my kids to Catholic schools and expect the parish to bail me out?
Let alone just stop paying.

That is not fair, responsible or kind to those around me.

Catholic elementary schools in general will not deny a child due to reasons of finance. Talk with your pastor.