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mom4truth
Guest
Our tuition is for Catholic families of “in parish” status. What do you think of the $50 donation - then you can wear jeans???
- Status
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Lovemyfaith
Guest
Belonging to a parish community isn’t the same thing as belonging to your township or city community. You hope the parish reflects your views on faith and morality. (Otherwise, find a different parish.) Donations to a parish should be made on that principal, to help fund the parish, that the parish makes worthy donations to charities that are of the same mindset, and to hopefully continue educating the people of the parish in their faith. You have very little choice in where your tax dollars go in the community.
My point is if I lived in a parish where the school tuition was over $10,000 a child a year I would go to the pastor and find out why it was so high, what the parish subsidy is and how my family could make that tuition affordable. I had a friend once who told me our pastor told her to bring in her financial information to work out something so she could send her 4 children to the school and she was unwilling.
My point is if I lived in a parish where the school tuition was over $10,000 a child a year I would go to the pastor and find out why it was so high, what the parish subsidy is and how my family could make that tuition affordable. I had a friend once who told me our pastor told her to bring in her financial information to work out something so she could send her 4 children to the school and she was unwilling.
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ack
Guest
Well, running a school is expensive. Teacher salaries and benefits, building maintenance, and heat all have to be paid, and these expenses are going up every year.
The thing is – even though they’re Catholic, there is no magical pot of money that the schools can dip into. All the money comes from parishioners like you and me.
If Catholic school tuition is too high, don’t blame some abstract entity or faceless bureaucracy for overcharging the students. The blame falls upon me, you, and the other Catholics sitting in the pews who, for whatever reason, do not feel motivated to subsidize the tuition of the students in their parish.
This is our church and these are our schools – any blame for high tuition falls upon us.
What can you do to help? You can start by building a culture stewardship among your friends and acquaintances at church…because ultimately, the money for your Catholic school is going to come from the people like the ones who sit next to you at Mass every Sunday.
The thing is – even though they’re Catholic, there is no magical pot of money that the schools can dip into. All the money comes from parishioners like you and me.
If Catholic school tuition is too high, don’t blame some abstract entity or faceless bureaucracy for overcharging the students. The blame falls upon me, you, and the other Catholics sitting in the pews who, for whatever reason, do not feel motivated to subsidize the tuition of the students in their parish.
This is our church and these are our schools – any blame for high tuition falls upon us.
What can you do to help? You can start by building a culture stewardship among your friends and acquaintances at church…because ultimately, the money for your Catholic school is going to come from the people like the ones who sit next to you at Mass every Sunday.
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mommamia
Guest
They do similar things at our elementary school, though usually it isn’t that much. But, kids whose parents work the bingo Friday night get an out of uniform day on Mon. Sometimes if they are collecting for a certain reason, they will offer out of uniform days to kids who bring in a donation (I never remember it being a certain amount), or donate food, or bring in the most boxtops.
I pay $4550 for two children, plus $320 in registration fees. This is for a top notch school. I think tuition is going up a few hundred dollars next year.
The main reason that tuition is able to be kept so low for parishioners is that parishioners support the school. Parents are expected to volunteer for bingo, and quite a few non-parents do too. The whole of the body works together to keep the school going and affordable. The support of the parish and the priest spill over into the spirit of the school, the spirit of love and kindness, and truly doing the work of Christ is strong there. The parishioners have to support the schools, or they will continue to fail and close.
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Lovemyfaith
Guest
Again, talk to the pastor. He should be willing to listen. For parents who can’t afford the donation for dress down, there should be other options like volunteering.
My sister would have no problem (and would certainly prefer) donating $50 for each child to dress down rather than give her time. She has the money, not the time. I would have an easier time giving my time. Time, talent and treasure run parishes.
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PaulinVA
Guest
Perhaps this could be debated on yet another public versus parochial versus homeschooling thread, but for the purposes for of this discussion, and to your point, you are right, I do not feel motivated to help you send your children to school. That is why Catholic school tuition is so high.
I don’t intend to be mean, but we’ve all made our education decisions and shouldn’t expect others to pay for it. If I could get parochial school parents a rebate on school (property) taxes, I would.
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KCT
Guest
Interesting . . . in my mom’s time, parents might not have batted an eyelash at doing this. Most people I know now would not go for this.
Wonder why? They want something for nothing (“Just help w/ tuition because I ask, why should I prove it?”) or they’re too proud to share that info? Other reasons why someone would refuse?
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mom4truth
Guest
This is my last post regarding this subject. I disagree with a couple of things pointed out. 1) Catholic schooling should be first and foremost to promote obedience to the Magisterium 2) Catholic schooling is not for the privileged 3) I don’t expect other people to pay for my child’s schooling 4) health can play a factor in volunteering for one’s children’s school (such as mine, which is poor) 5) this is not a truly “Catholic” school; no Catholic morals promoted nor ethics 6)you ask why my kids go there? It’s close to home (I must drive him), I originally thought it was an authentic Catholic school, son will graduate in 2 yrs. Just thought I’d put this out there. I KNOW this is unfair. Thanks.
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puzzleannie
Guest
I am not speaking of making school parents also support the parish, although that should be a given, i am speaking specifically of tithing, a comprehensive parish wide spirituality of stewardship which places a priority on the life and mission of the parish, namely to catechise, evangelize and sanctify, and places the education of children in the faith within that prioritization. Tithing is where the entire parish supports the entire parish, not where cadres of parishioners do their own thing and run and pay for their own programs for select groups.CAN… but not all parishes run their schools that way… unfortunately…
Actually, our parish school requires that we do give to the parish (not tithe, but still financially participate) in addition to the tuition requirements…
100-150 years ago the US bishops recognized the future of the Church in America depended on helping Catholic families educate their children in the faith, and in moral living, in a mileau that did not militate against that faith, as public schools of the day were wont to do. Back then the struggle was to evangelize entire Catholic families, mainly immigrant, through teaching the children and involving the whole family in the school and parish, and to protect them from aggressive proselytization from the Protestant bias of the public school system. Now the enemy is the secularization and immorality fostered in the public school system, but the reality remains the same, strong Catholic schools orthodox, academically rigorous, and dedicated to teaching ecclesially are essential to the future of the Church.
this goes far beyond the educational choices of the parents, it goes to the heart of how the parish sees is life, work and mission.
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Lovemyfaith
Guest
How about school taxes that you and I pay? Which you have no say over the amount you give or the increase per year.
My attitude is this is my parish and my parish family. My faith life will always come first to me. I care about the people in my parish and especially the children having a catholic school available. To that end, I will always donate toward catholic education. I trust my pastor to run that school and believe that the school will guide them in their faith.
As far as school taxes, no way. I don’t trust my politicians to put the children first. I see public schools run by unions and other interests. I see things that I know are absolutely hurting the moral fiber of the children and it breaks my heart. Those children get my school taxes and my prayers.
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Swan
Guest
I live in Los Angeles. As I’m sure you all know, we have a lot of Catholic immigrants (please, let’s refrain from the legality issue here). Many of these folks have large families and are very poor. I am a teacher. I completed teacher training at a Catholic college last year and one really good thing that I can report is that many of my fellow students were truly wonderful Hispanics raised in the poor areas of town who were teacing at their parish schools and doing their best to keep the youth from falling into gangs and crime. But I also know Catholics who started teaching in public schools because they were unable to live on the salary Catholic schools provided. Parish schools pay a scale set by the diocese. Schools run by orders might or might not pay more (though they generally charge more tuition). Our diocese also has diocese wide fund raising plans to aid the schools of poorer parishes. Los Angeles is a very expensive city to live in so I understand the need to earn as much as possible, especially considering how much higher education costs and the increasing need for teachers to continue their educations. If there is a simple answer, I sure don’t know what it is. 
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HouseArrest
Guest
I don’t know if they do or not. I was educated at Catholic school until 8th grade and I definitely do not have only an eighth grade view of the church. But if those people are going to stop anyway, isn’t it better than a preschoolers view? I think “they” might lay stagnant for awhile, but pick it back up.
Sorry mom4truth, we are getting sidetracked. I just get worried when I hear the whole “close the schools, concentrate on something else” when our school is working!
I suppose I should add our school tuition for 6 kids (so far) was $5,710 of which we paid about $2,200 after the EITC tax credit scholarship and our earnings for scrip. Not bad.
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ack
Guest
Ah, but these two points seem to contradict each other – if the parish doesn’t band together to pay for the poorer families schooling, then Catholic schooling will be only for the privileged, because most individuals wouldn’t be able to pay the tuition.
FYI, I do not have children, so my interest in this topic is still theoretical. My feelings on subsidized Catholic education are still somewhat mixed.
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Norseman82
Guest
When you think about what has caused the tuition costs to skyrocket in the last 30 years, ask yourself who were the teachers then and who are the teachers now, and you will notice one major difference: we no longer have an ample supply of nuns working for basically “slave labor” wages.
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GeorgiaPeach
Guest
I have 3 kids enrolled in a Catholic School (elementary/middle) in the Diocese of Tampa and the tuition for all three is under 10K.
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mom4truth
Guest
Looks like I should move to Tampa!
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psr13
Guest
My husband and I are considering moving to the Wichita area after I finish college because of the schools. One reason is that it is tuition free. We do tithe regularly. Also, the dress codes seem to be pretty strict. At least the websites I looked at were. Skirts had to go to the knee. No makeup allowed at all. One even said that on free dress days dresses had to be of modest taste. You just don’t find that around here. Also, one school had weekly Mass. Another school had Mass twice a week. That’s what we’re looking for.
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whatevergirl
Guest
hi georgia;
Diocese of Saint Pete, actually
--I live in tampa bay area, and there are a number of high schools that are $14k per student and up…I think it’s the high schools that are a bit higher in price, from what I’ve seen both here and back in PA.
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YADA
Guest
So for you who have posted:
The tuition costs you list are they out of pocket costs for your family?
For example: If someone contacts my parishes’ school the tuition is $7,000.00 this is the cost for a person who is not a registered parishioner, a non catholic and who would not qualify for any additional financial aid … I also believe that this is the cost if they opt out of the fund raising volunteer hours …
A parishioner gets a reduced rate [as the parish provides 18% of the school operating costs from the Sunday collections], the diocese provides a subsidy * and fund raising credits … Then there are other avenues: appeals for parishioners to sponsor the cost of tuition [annual, monthly, etc.] and scholarships based upon finacial need that are funded by the parents club and the endowment fund.
I find it hard to believe that my parish [and diocese] is unigue in its attempt to provide tuition assistance …
And CYO sports progrms [for which there are fees] offer scholarships too.
If your diocese and parishes do not have these programs, is it a function of a lack of financial support? … What programs do your parishes offer … how is the religious education for those students who attend the public schools? Is it vibrant, with good parental [and in general - the average parishioner in the pew without children] support through finances and volunteeers?
Is you diocese able to fund the causes and support for parishes that it should?
Steppping back from a strickly school veiwpoint: Do you make financial support of your praish and diocese a priority in your household budgets? Or is that “line item” an after thought or a “whatever I can afford at this momment” decision ? …
And for the poster who did not want to support some other parishioners student … did you attend a catholic school?
And, yes, in the past there were nuns [cheap labor?] but the school buildings were not built by the nuns and the construction costs were funded by parishioners who had a vision that exxtended into the future and for the benefit families they would noever meet … the same is true of our church buildings, we need to maintain, modernize and protect our church and school buildings and properties just like we care for our personal homes … we are the church and we are collectively a family … what is good for one make the whole healthier …
The kid you support in the local parish school could be the next generations parish priest or the soctor that operates on you …
*
The tuition costs you list are they out of pocket costs for your family?
For example: If someone contacts my parishes’ school the tuition is $7,000.00 this is the cost for a person who is not a registered parishioner, a non catholic and who would not qualify for any additional financial aid … I also believe that this is the cost if they opt out of the fund raising volunteer hours …
A parishioner gets a reduced rate [as the parish provides 18% of the school operating costs from the Sunday collections], the diocese provides a subsidy * and fund raising credits … Then there are other avenues: appeals for parishioners to sponsor the cost of tuition [annual, monthly, etc.] and scholarships based upon finacial need that are funded by the parents club and the endowment fund.
I find it hard to believe that my parish [and diocese] is unigue in its attempt to provide tuition assistance …
And CYO sports progrms [for which there are fees] offer scholarships too.
If your diocese and parishes do not have these programs, is it a function of a lack of financial support? … What programs do your parishes offer … how is the religious education for those students who attend the public schools? Is it vibrant, with good parental [and in general - the average parishioner in the pew without children] support through finances and volunteeers?
Is you diocese able to fund the causes and support for parishes that it should?
Steppping back from a strickly school veiwpoint: Do you make financial support of your praish and diocese a priority in your household budgets? Or is that “line item” an after thought or a “whatever I can afford at this momment” decision ? …
And for the poster who did not want to support some other parishioners student … did you attend a catholic school?
And, yes, in the past there were nuns [cheap labor?] but the school buildings were not built by the nuns and the construction costs were funded by parishioners who had a vision that exxtended into the future and for the benefit families they would noever meet … the same is true of our church buildings, we need to maintain, modernize and protect our church and school buildings and properties just like we care for our personal homes … we are the church and we are collectively a family … what is good for one make the whole healthier …
The kid you support in the local parish school could be the next generations parish priest or the soctor that operates on you …
*- Status