The Diocese of Scranton

Scholarship Foundation Provides Aid
to 1,045 Students in Catholic Schools

With the new academic year underway, 1,045 students in Diocesan Catholic schools are the beneficiaries of tuition assistance awards from the Diocese of Scranton Scholarship Foundation.

The students received a total of $926,423, which includes 167 Pre-K Awards amounting to $67,538. The Pre-K awards, averaging $400 per recipient, are a new component of the program.

The awards are funded by corporate gifts to the scholarship foundation. Businesses and corporations that make a contribution can then apply for a state tax credit. This cooperative effort is made possible by Pennsylvania’s Educational Improvement Tax Credit program (EITC), which is designed to encourage corporate support for education across the state.

Since the EITC program was implemented four years ago, 64 corporations have made donations to the Diocese of Scranton Scholarship Foundation. Those gifts have enabled the foundation to award $4,217,974 (99% of funds received) to 4,234 students in Diocesan schools.

Ernest G. Pappa, director of the Diocese of Scranton Scholarship Foundation, said: “The businesses that have contributed to our foundation should be commended for helping with the tuition costs of more than 1,000 students. Many families would not be able to send their children to Diocesan schools without this help. I am grateful to the contributors and very pleased to have offered assistance to our families.”

Families must submit an application to be considered for tuition assistance. The applications are evaluated by the Private School Aid Service (PSAS), a Lakewood, Ohio company that specializes in financial aid programs.

Using objective criteria, the company ranks the applications within each school based on a formula that uses financial information provided by the applicants. Parents are able to check on the status of their application online at www.psas.org.

The rankings and the amount of scholarship money available in each school determine which students received aid. Mr. Pappa explained that the amount of funding varies from school to school because corporations have the option of designating which school will benefit from their donation. In addition, every Diocesan school is encouraged to approach corporations to seek support for this program.

More companies are choosing to designate funds to particular schools, Mr. Pappa noted. He said $164,500 of the total available for awards this year was undesignated and was apportioned equitably among Diocesan schools. Included in that amount is $43,300 in Pre-K scholarship money.

In all, 2,749 families applied for awards and 38% of applicants received awards. The awards ranged from $200 to $2,000 representing 30% to 67% of tuition. The average award was $885.

The total amount available statewide for private school scholarships for grades K through 12 was increased from $26,666,666 to $29,300,000 with the completion of the state education budget on July 7. However, by July 30 all tax credits were reserved by Pennsylvania corporations for the current year.

On July 1, 2006, a new tax credit year begins. The maximum amount for a business to contribute to the K-12 program is $222,222 for a tax credit of $200,000.

The new Pre-K tax credit program, which began on July 1, 2004, made an additional $5 million in tax credits available to businesses to support Pre-K scholarships. The credits allow for 100% tax credits for the first $10,000 and 90% for any additional donations. This program is separate from the K–12 program and allows for businesses to donate and receive tax credits for an additional maximum of $100,000. The Diocese of Scranton Scholarship Foundation is a qualified organization eligible to receive Pre-K donations from companies for 30 Diocesan Pre-K centers. There are no more tax credits available for the Pre-K program at this time.

For further information on these programs, please contact Mr. Pappa at 570-207-2250.

DIOCESE OF SCRANTON SCHOLARSHIP FOUNDATION

Tuition Assistance Awards 2005-06

School City # of Awards Total Amt. Awarded

Sacred Heart Elementary School Carbondale 41 $21,300

Our Lady of Peace School Clarks Green 16 $14,500

Msgr. McHugh Elementary School Cresco 5 $ 5,000

Gate of Heaven School Dallas 36 $30,000

St. Mary Visitation School Dickson City 50 $32,600

Bishop O=Hara High School Dunmore 15 $23,600

St. Anthony of Padua School Dunmore 24 $15,800

St. Mary of Mount Carmel School Dunmore 27 $20,800

Sacred Heart of Jesus School Dupont 16 $10,000

Holy Rosary School Duryea 24 $16,000

Notre Dame Elementary School East Stroudsburg 11 $ 6,800

Notre Dame Jr. / Sr. High School East Stroudsburg 6 $ 7,500

Wyoming Area Catholic School Exeter 22 $16,900

Bishop Hafey Jr. / Sr. High School Hazleton 25 $37,000

Holy Spirit Academy Hazleton 16 $11,400

Holy Trinity School Hazleton 17 $17,000

St. Joseph Memorial School Hazleton 30 $19,900

St. Vincent School Honesdale 12 $ 7,200

La Salle Academy Jessup 19 $14,200

Regis Elementary School Kingston 35 $54,300

Bishop O’Reilly Jr. High School Kingston 8 $ 7,600

Bishop O=Reilly High School Kingston 30 $52,400

Sacred Heart School Luzerne 13 $ 7,600

St. Jude School Mountaintop 25 $21,600

Pope John Paul II School Nanticoke 11 $ 7,600

St. Mary School Old Forge 22 $17,200

Seton Catholic High School Pittston 24 $44,300

St. Mary Assumption School Pittston 20 $11,600

SS Peter and Paul School Plains 11 $ 5,800

Epiphany School Sayre 8 $ 5,000

All Saints Academy Scranton 23 $16,400

Bishop Hannan High School Scranton 38 $51,000

Holy Rosary School Scranton 31 $25,600

Marian Catholic Interparochial School Scranton 46 $50,583

St. Clare School Scranton 31 $20,600

St. Paul School Scranton 31 $25,400

St. Agnes School Towanda 13 $ 9,400

Transfiguration School West Hazleton 16 $12,000

Bishop Hoban High School Wilkes-Barre 16 $22,300

Sacred Heart School Wilkes-Barre 29 $22,000

St. Aloysius School Wilkes-Barre 19 $11,400

St. Boniface Interparochial School Wilkes-Barre 16 $ 8,200

St. Nicholas / St. Mary School Wilkes-Barre 18 $11,000

Bishop Neumann Jr. / Sr. H.S. Williamsport 37 $47,200

Immaculate Conception School Williamsport 11 $ 7,940

St. Boniface School Williamsport 24 $14,200

St. Joseph School Williamsport 29 $15,100

St. Ann School Williamsport 15 $10,600

TOTAL 1,045 $926,423

Applications for tuition assistance are ranked within each school based on a formula that uses financial information provided by the applicants. The rankings and the amount of scholarship money available in each school determine which students received aid. The amount of funding varies from school to school because corporations have the option of designating which school will benefit from their donation. In addition, every Diocesan school is encouraged to approach corporations to seek support for this program.

More companies are choosing to designate funds to particular schools. This year, $164,500 of the total available for awards this year was undesignated and was apportioned equitably among Diocesan schools.