Posted on 07/29/2006 6:46:51 AM PDT by siunevada
Don't let that prejudice you against considering the content of the articles.
And this is a mere fraction of the cost of a similar magnitude of government schools. Eliminate government schooling, and we could find this outcome replicated nationwide: private systems, where the better-off contribute, and the less well off are helped by charity.
This is really a great idea. I hope other dioceses adopt it.
Unfortunately, here in the Diocese of Cleveland, the former bishop, Anthony Pilla, took the opposite approach to Catholic education. In 1999 Bishop Pilla implemented his "Cost-based tuition" policy, which urged parish schools to raise their tuitions, to charge families what the average cost of educating each child actually was. This way parishes would no longer have to subsidize the operations of their schools and they would be able to pay teachers more money. Many parishes did, in fact, implement this policy. They raised tuition and eliminated the multiple-child discount that they had previously given to families.
However, many blue collar and middle class families could not afford to pay higher tuition, and they have taken their children out of Catholic schools. Enrollments have declined and many schools have been closed. In 1999 there were 144 Catholic grade schools serving 50,000 students. Today, there are 125 Catholic grade schools, serving 30,400 students. In other words, we have almost 40% fewer children in parochial schools in the Diocese of Cleveland than we had even 6 years ago.
Thank you Bishop Pilla for ruining Catholic education in this diocese. Thank heaven you finally retired.
Hey RepubMommy!
Maybe we need to move to Kansas!
Tuition is over $4K this coming year. That's what my parents paid for my final year in high school in 1983!
sounds like a good idea.
The children of active parishioners >>>
it looks as though you have to be practicing and active Catholics in your parish in order to have the diocese sponsor your children.
I wish we could move to Kansas.
There was another article last week about someplace in Kansas assisting in home buying too if I remember correctly.
Makes sense. They want to know that the kids in their schools have the support and reinforcement of the lessons at home.
I'd like to know how they convinced the parishoners to not be quite so tight with their money. I remember reading an article in the National Catholic Register entitled "Deep Pockets, Short Arms". It was about how many Catholics don't support their parishes because they still have the immigrant mentality. They complain that they can't afford to give any more to the Church as they leave their big house and drive one of their two new cars to Church with their two kids.
I wish we could move to Kansas. >>>
RUN, Toto, Run!
Lions, tigers and bears, oh my
oh, toto, come back, toto, toto!
I don't get the reasoning behind that description. Immigrants built the Catholic Church (and the Catholic churhes and cathedrals and schools) in the United States. Immigrants with big families in little houses.
You're right that the immigrants built the churches and schools, and they sacrificed to do it. In THAT regard, their children and grand-children don't resemble them, it's just that they want to identify with their forefathers in the INCOME category. Not true, of course, it's an excuse to not support their parishes so they can spend that money on something for themselves or their children.
That's what I mean. Calling materialism and selfishness "the immigrant mentality" is an insult to the all the immigrants who lived sacrificially and built the churches, schools, etc.
Just call it the "me-first, me-second, me-third" mentality!
My parish in Sacramento diocese had a presentation by Fr. John Lanzrath of Wichita about the way that they promote stewardship.
One of his repeated points was, "It's not about the money."
They started by getting people to give time and talent. The treasure followed.
The bishop has been pushing their concept of how to make this work since 1985 and they are currently at 75% of the parishes participating.
I was most impressed with what they have done in education but one of the other minor financial benefits is - No Second Collections. Ever. The special needs that are usually done by a second collection all come out of the regular collection.
33 million per year divided by 10,500 students
= $3,142.00 /student/year
NEA & DNC force the costs up to $10,000/year
at pubic schools (no typo)
But are the schools actually Catholic?
Most Catholic schools have crapola left-wing religious education programs and teachers who know nothing about the faith.
Thanks for the math! I'm boggled at how much people are willing to spend on pubic schools :-), compared to the value received. We have people in my county, living in $500,000 houses, who are going to the school board to agitate for their children to be assigned to the school they prefer.
WHY should these people be prepared to beg the government for preferences, when they could simply pay the fees for them to attend any of a variety of religious and secular private schools? I can only conclude that they've adopted government schooling as a religious observance.
How's your family? Do you have a teenage son? I'm *looking* for my daughter :-).
I would love 4K for tuition. In Georgia we are at 6100 for K-8 and 9800 for high school. We have 2 in high school and one in middle school. (around 27000 + books, uniforms etc.) I am hoping our Archbishop knows about Kansas.
Public school costs so much because of special education. 15 percent or so of public school children get special education services. They are expensive. Some special cases can be up to 100,000 per year. Catholic schools are able to select their students, so they don't have to have special programs for all their students. Not saying there isn't waste etc. but special education accounts for a bulk of the difference.
My b-i-l is a priest in the Diocese of Biloxi in MS. He's been encouraging tithing for years, and many of his parishoners have begun doing it.
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