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Click Here to View Video of the Notre Dame Meeting

Click Here to View PDF File of the Notre Dame Presentation

As the Diocese of Scranton looks to the future, Bishop Joseph C. Bambera expanded Diocesan efforts to create a stable, sustainable Catholic School System in the Diocese of Scranton that is spiritually sound and academically excellent by meeting with stakeholders of the Notre Dame School System on Nov. 7 during a meeting held at Notre Dame High School, East Stroudsburg. 

The Notre Dame System is comprised of Msgr. McHugh Elementary School, Notre Dame Elementary School and Notre Dame Junior/Senior High School. The purpose of the meeting was for the Bishop to share all that he knows about the Notre Dame System at this time and to begin to develop a process for assessing how we move forward in a way that is fair to students and parents, parishes and the Diocese. In attendance were members of the Notre Dame regional board, principals, teachers and parent representatives from the three schools, along with pastors from the area. 

A video of the meeting can be viewed on the Diocesan website at www.dioceseofscranton.org beginning by noon, Tuesday, Nov. 8. 

Bishop Bambera noted that, since his installation in April 2010, he has visited parish communities and schools across the 11 counties of the Diocese. In every conversation, a common theme emerged: the need to develop a vision of who we are as God’s people and who we wish to become. During the past year, the Bishop began to develop a vision for the Diocese, including its Catholic School System. In doing so, he invited the clergy, religious and lay faithful to share their concerns, ideas, hopes and dreams. Included in the feedback received were concerns about parish restructurings, financial hardships being faced by parishes and concerns about the future of our Catholic School System.

“I have heard loud and clear from you about your anxieties over whether or not we will have a Catholic school system in the Diocese of Scranton,” Bishop Bambera said. “From all that I have heard, it is clear to me that the issue before us is not primarily maintaining buildings but maintaining a Catholic School System as an option for our children. I need to work with you to provide our Diocese with a stable, sustainable Catholic school system that is spiritually sound and academically excellent.” 

Bishop Bambera also noted that during this past year, similar meetings were held in the Holy Cross System (based in Lackawanna and Bradford Counties) and Holy Redeemer System (based in Luzerne County) when stakeholders from each of these systems were informed about the finances of the schools, the impact on parishes, and the need to make adjustments to how our schools are funded. At that time, the Bishop committed to future planning taking place to address the particular circumstances of the Notre Dame System (Monroe County). With the planning process and implementation of plans already initiated in the Holy Cross and Holy Redeemer Systems, the Notre Dame System has become the next step of the process to create a stable and sustainable Diocesan Catholic School System. 

WHERE WE ARE 

Enrollment Concerns

This year, there are 690 students in the Notre Dame System, compared to 1,191 in 2002-2003, which represents a 42% decline in enrollment. All three schools are below capacity. There are currently 1,230 total seats and 540 open seats in the system. 

Budget Concerns

In the Notre Dame System, the average cost to educate each student is $5,167 at Msgr. McHugh; $6,321 at Notre Dame Elementary; and $10,564 at Notre Dame Jr/Sr HS. The average family responsibility is $3,621 at Msgr. McHugh; $4,637 at Notre Dame Elementary; and $6,628 at Notre Dame Jr/Sr High School. This leaves a pretty significant gap between what it costs and how much is paid.

To help defray the funding gap that emerges from the difference in per pupil costs and tuition rates, most parishes in the Diocese are currently being assessed 21.75 percent of their income to support the schools. A few parishes in the Diocese that do not have students in the schools are assessed 10 percent. This year, parishes are being billed $1,073,810 to fund the schools, with another $65,572 provided by the Diocesan Annual Appeal, primarily through contributions from parishioners. These funding sources, in effect, amount to a grant of approximately $1,650 for each student.

Despite the infusion of significant financial support, however, the Notre Dame system has a budget deficit totaling $189,416 for the current school year. Moreover, the total debt to the Diocese for all four school systems (Holy Cross, Holy Redeemer, Notre Dame and St. John Neumann) is $19,000,000. Of that amount, $9.2 million represents the total debt of the Notre Dame System. Included in the debt is a $6.3 million PNC Commercial Loan and three Diocesan loans taken out on behalf of the schools to pay for both capital projects and regular operating expenses. Currently the Notre Dame System is paying on the PNC loan, but it is not servicing the loans owed to the Diocese. 

WHERE WE ARE GOING 

Moving Forward

Bishop Bambera identified key areas that need to be addressed in order to create a sustainable and stable Catholic School System. Including: 

• A strong Catholic identity and an appropriate mission statement that reflects the Catholicity of all school programs and activities will be maintained.
• All schools will continue to maintain full accreditation by the Middle States Association.
• Student/teacher ratio must be both cost effective and capable of providing for a positive learning environment.
• Buildings should be filled to at least 90 percent of capacity.
• Financial grants and scholarships will continue to be available. Schools will continue to receive significant support from the parishes and from the Diocesan Annual Appeal, and eligible students will continue to have access to financial assistance through the Educational Improvement Tax Credit (EITC) program and several other scholarship programs.
• For parishes currently being assessed 21.75 percent of their income, that assessment will be reduced to 15 percent over a period of time. Thus ensuring that parishes continue to provide substantial financial support to our schools.
• Advancement efforts will be re-focused whereby a Diocesan schools’ advancement director will be retained shortly and the system boards will be re-organized to focus on marketing and development efforts.
• Our financial review will continue to be transparent as we focus on realistically assessing the viability of our schools in the Notre Dame System. 

Bishop Bambera said he is inviting everyone – families, current students and alumni, the regional school board members, clergy, religious and laity – to come together to promote and support our Diocesan Catholic School System.

“I ask you to join me in this partnership to forge the future of Catholic education in our Diocese,” he said. “With your help and support, I have faith that we can achieve our goal to have a stable, sustainable Catholic school system that will serve our young people into the future.”