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St. John Catholic School A Case Study in Fair Share Tuition

St. John Catholic School A Case Study in Fair Share Tuition. Tuition models: “The Family Plan”. Based on number of students in family Evolved as a response to increased personnel costs Tends to depend heavily on parish subsidy Most common model. Tuition models: Full Cost Recovery.

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St. John Catholic School A Case Study in Fair Share Tuition

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  1. St. John Catholic SchoolA Case Study in Fair Share Tuition

  2. Tuition models:“The Family Plan” • Based on number of students in family • Evolved as a response to increased personnel costs • Tends to depend heavily on parish subsidy • Most common model

  3. Tuition models:Full Cost Recovery • Cost of education drives tuition rates and families use a matrix to determine their tuition • Parish subsidies for tuition assistance only provided to students in need • Some variations recover less than 100% of cost

  4. Tuition models:Fair Share • Applies only to parish families • School informs families of education costs • Each family commits to the tuition it feels represents its “fair share” based on resources and needs • Requires trust and shared commitment from the entire school community

  5. St. John School • Located in the Greenwood neighborhood of North Seattle • Opened in September, 1923 • 984 families registered in the parish • 44 faculty and staff – with an additional 13 staff in the Extended Day Care • Current year operating budget of $2,921,681 (which includes $112,880 of parish in-kind-services, i.e. some staff salaries and utilities)

  6. Evolution of Fair Share at St. John • Blue Ribbon Task force formed • School Commission Long Range Plan • Parish Goals presented • Decision to implement fair share • Pastoral Letter initiating policy and first registrations taken

  7. The Fair Share Process • Families learn cost of education for coming year through information packets and “State of the School” meeting • Families prayerfully discern their “fair share” commitment • Families turn in registration papers with tuition commitment to facilitators • New families have additional information and guidance

  8. Fair Share Values • Biblical standards of justice that call the community to support one another • Equal sacrifice from all parish families • Prayerful discernment • Trust • Confidentiality

  9. Advantages • No judgment, no nagging, no policing • A socio-economically diverse school population vs. an “elitist private school” • Trust based – no tax forms needed • Fewer empty desks • There is no minimum or maximum for parish families • Spirit of trust infuses other aspects of parish life, including volunteerism • Community not consumerism • Parents registered in the parish set their own tuition rates

  10. Challenges • Implementation demands trust and faith • Communication is critical • Entire school community must commit to the philosophy • You have to be at peace and trust that God and the community will provide

  11. Requirements for Success • Trust from leadership – Parish and School leaders must live out the values • Demographics and economics • An established and successful school program • A community ready to embrace a stewardship message • Strong development program in the school • Confidentiality • A multi-year effort to launch • Ongoing effort to maintain

  12. Our Experience • “It’s a multi-year learning process – families tend to give more as time goes on” • “The community passes on the values of fair share tuition from family to family” • “With fair share, no parish family will be denied a Catholic education because of finances” • “Our tuition pledges always exceeded what we hoped to receive”

  13. Our Experience ―Enrollment History – St. Johns Implementation Enrollment K-8 School Year

  14. Our Experience ―Percentage of Catholic Students K-8 Implementation School Year

  15. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Q. What prompted St. John to adopt the Fair Share Tuition model? A. Decreased revenue and increased costs in the 1970s (increasingly lay faculty and staff) with a strong desire to maintain an accessible school program at St. John with equitable salaries for the faculty and staff. Q. What tuition model was used at St. John before Fair Share? A. Parish administration and school commission annually set a tuition amount that they believed the community could support. Everyone paid the same amount. A very few families asked for tuition assistance.

  16. FAQs Q. What if the Fair Share pledges are not enough? A. As with other tuition models, if projected Fair Share tuition income does not meet projected operating expenses, some purchases or projects would be deferred. However, due to the strong history with Fair Share, budget planning can be made with confidence equal to that used in other tuition models.

  17. FAQs Q. What other fund-raising activities support the school operating expenses? A. Strong work by the development team has resulted in increased funding from Annual Fund pledges; a very robust school SCRIP program; a successful annual school auction; and matching funds from participating corporations and United Way.

  18. St. John Fair Share ―“Faith in Action”

  19. Pat Gilbrough Agnes Jacobson Fr. William McKee Eric Paige Dan Sherman Peg Snyder Michele Thornquist Tim Thole Produced by St. John SchoolSeattle, WAwww.st-johnschool.org Special thanks and acknowledgement to:

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