Does your diocese support your school

[rochejaune]

We live in a small town of about 7500 and have a small Catholic school. We had 120 students just 4 years ago, but we are down to about 75. Lots of reasons, from money to troubles with our priest. We’ve had to borrow a lot of money from our diocese these past few years. Most everybody that I’ve spoken to thinks that our diocese doesn’t do much for our school in terms of support. There really is no budget to help struggling schools. We all feel that they should not be LOANING us money but granting us the money until we can get back on our feet. I’ve seen their budget and they’ve got the money.

We’ve also got a superintendent of Catholic schools who makes a ton of money, but we don’t really know what he does. I guess that he keeps in touch with the school, but I don’t see that he really helps all that much. There has never been a diocesan school board meeting that I can remember.

How much does your diocese help your schools?

 

[OutinChgoburbs]

Our diocese has an endowment called United in Faith. Part of what United in Faith does is give to a percentage to Catholic schools. It also helps needy schools. For more information, look here.

 

[KCT]

The school where I teach is approved by the diocese but run by an order. We don’t get money from the diocese.

Our enrollment dropped recently as well; we’re just under 300 and we’re a pre K - 8 school.

 

[puzzleannie]

do you have a school board? who is your administration? they should be the ones finding out this info from the diocese, and they should be reporting to the parents. I doubt very much if the diocese will lend further support to a school that seems in decline.

 

[HouseArrest]

Our diocese’s first response to low enrollment was to procure a grant to study and advise using multiage classrooms which usually resulted in even lower enrollment and more school closings. At our request, the diocese then hired an organization to hold a series of meetings to advise the schools how to grow instead of live with decline. Our parents and adminstration have spent the past few years drawing up a strategic plan, forming a more active school board, and organizing an advancement committee. It’s working - we’re seeing a turnaround, even though it is very slow. Our pastor is getting more on board with advocating the school which I think is of the utmost importance. He wasn’t always convinced that our school should stay. It took a lot of meetings and parents that were adamant that the school stay - in it’s proper form - K-8. It took a whole lot to convince him but I think we’re well on our way. I think that kind of support is more important than money.

 

[OutinChgoburbs]

While our schools operate mostly in an autonomous fashion, if our diocese education office sees a school start to decline, they will come in and clean house if necessary. Last 2 schools where they did that were in a deanery with a high Hispanic population. One school is now immersion Spanish-English with a science program, headed by a principal who is good at fund raising. The other had a religious order come in and take over and inaugurate fund raisers, etc. Both schools went from below 80 each to a sustainable 120.