Reorganization of Catholic Schools
Proceeds
As the reorganization of Catholic schools in
Lackawanna, Wayne and Luzerne Counties moves
forward, courses of study for the new high
schools are nearly finalized, student
leaders at the high schools have convened,
and open houses have been held or will be
held at the various institutions to
facilitate the open registration phase.
On Feb. 8, Student Council members and class
officers from Bishop Hafey, Bishop Hannan,
Bishop Hoban, Bishop O’Reilly, Bishop O’Hara
and Seton Catholic high schools gathered at
St. Maria Goretti Parish Center in Laflin
for a period of prayer, reflection and
discussion. There were 117 students who
participated.
The gathering was facilitated by Father
Jeffrey Walsh, V.E., Episcopal Vicar for the
Eastern Pastoral Region; Sarah Mountain,
Diocesan director of youth and young adult
ministry; Brendan Murphy, associate director
of religious education; and Matt Breuninger,
a volunteer who assists with youth ministry
and retreats.
Bringing student leaders from all six high
schools together provided a forum for open
discussion about the reorganization,
according to Father Walsh.
“I think we accomplished a lot,” he said.
“The students were able to express their
thoughts and feelings. They heard a message
of hopeful optimism. They were challenged to
implement the qualities of leadership in
their schools at this critical moment in the
history of Catholic education. They saw the
Church with them. They were brought to Jesus
in prayer and in sacrament.”
The key aspects of leadership were stressed:
Support, Awareness, Self Confidence,
Positive Thinking and Values. Group
discussions were held, and after lunch the
students were encouraged to mingle with
their peers from other schools. The program
concluded with Mass.
“I exhorted them to pray their way through
whatever difficulties they may be having,”
Father Walsh said. “I told them the Lord is
counting on them. The students were very
reverent at Mass.”
The following day, Feb. 9, representatives
from Marian Catholic High School visited
Bishop Hafey High School to provide
information about Marian’s programs and
activities. The delegation included Marian’s
principal and other administrators,
including the athletic director, and 10
students.
Marian is located in Tamaqua in the Diocese
of Allentown. Arrangements have been made to
enable students from Bishop Hafey to attend
Marian.
“The Marian people noted that their school
already has students from a wide geographic
area, and they are looking forward to
welcoming students from Bishop Hafey and
making them feel at home,” Father Walsh
reported. “The Hafey students had a chance
to ask a lot of questions, and I think it
was enlightening for them.”
Marian has set a registration deadline of
March 1 so that it can plan on staffing and
space needs for the coming year.
At Diocese of Scranton schools, the first
registration phase for the 2007-08 academic
year concluded on Feb. 16. During this
phase, students who are currently enrolled
in a Diocesan Catholic school were allowed
to re-register at that school even if that
school is combining with another. Such
registrations, however, are only for the
school with which the current school is
combining.
An open registration period will begin March
1. During this second phase, new students or
current students who choose not to enroll
under the above conditions can seek to
register at any school with available seats.
Many of the schools have already conducted
open houses, and others have scheduled open
houses. Parents who have questions about the
upcoming open registration phase should
contact any of the schools for information.
Joseph Casciano, Diocesan Secretary for
Catholic Education and Superintendent of
Schools, also announced that the freshman
class at Holy Cross High School will be
located at the Dunmore campus for 2007-08.
He explained that this location is more
conducive for transporting students from
surrounding school districts. In particular,
some of the outlying districts will bus to
Dunmore but not to Scranton. Since the
Scranton School District does not bus any
high school students, the Diocese will
provide transportation for freshmen from
Scranton who enroll at Holy Cross. The
Diocese will continue to bus students from
all grades from Carbondale to the Holy Cross
campuses in either Scranton or Dunmore.
Meanwhile, Mr. Casciano said, the
feasibility of building a new high school in
Lackawanna County is still being studied.
The superintendent said that the courses of
study for Holy Cross High School and Holy
Redeemer High School are being finalized.
“Parents can be assured that these courses
of study, as they have in the past, will
meet all of the state requirements and the
Diocesan statutes for an authentic Catholic
education,” he said.
Mr. Casciano said that steps are being taken
to form the boards of directors for the
Lackawanna/Wayne and Luzerne systems. Once
the directors are named, they will undergo
training and then the boards will officially
begin their duties on July 1.
“In the meantime, we have to make decisions
now to be ready for the new school year,” he
noted. “This is a transition year, and as
one parent pointed out, the implementation
of this reorganization is indeed a
monumental task. We recognize that people
are anxious for all of the details right
now, but we are asking them to be patient.
We are working on many aspects of this
concurrently, and we will provide the
information as soon as we can.
“We will be ready to operate first-class
Catholic elementary and secondary schools
for the 2007-08 academic year.”
Information on Tuition and Fees for Catholic Schools
in 2007-08
(see tuition comparison at end of article)
As implementation of the reorganization plan
proceeds, members of some school communities
and the media continue to question the new
tuition rates and fees that will go into
effect for the 2007-08 school year.
The rates are intended to address the real
costs of operating the schools, the
financial drain on the parishes that support
the schools, and the necessary upgrades to
facilities and programs to ensure that all
schools can offer a comprehensive academic,
extra-curricular and athletic program,
according to James Quinn, Diocesan Secretary
for Financial Services and Chief Financial
Officer.
“The current method of funding Catholic
education is not working,” Mr. Quinn said,
noting that “many schools and the parishes
that support them are in dire financial
straits.”
Schools and parishes have been coming to the
Diocese to borrow money to cover normal
operations such as payroll, utilities and
insurance expenses, etc. The total
outstanding loans due from parishes and
schools as of Dec. 31 was $28,584,866. Of
this total, $12,936,290 is owed by
financially troubled parishes and schools.
Mr. Quinn said the average current tuitions
cover only about half of the actual average
cost of educating a student. Furthermore,
tuitions in the Diocese of Scranton are
significantly lower than the average
national tuition rates for Catholic schools.
The highest elementary tuition for a
Catholic student in the Diocese of Scranton
in 2007-08 will be $2,200 – the average
elementary tuition nationally was $2,607 in
2005-06 (the difference would almost
certainly be even greater if the national
average for 2007-08 were known). At the high
school level, the highest tuition in the
Diocese of Scranton in 2007-08 will be
$4,500 compared to the national average of
$5,870 in 2005-06.
Mr. Quinn addressed the argument that since
this region has a median family income of
approximately $34,000, families may not be
able to afford a Catholic school. He cited
the example of St. Nicholas/St. Mary School
in Wilkes-Barre, where some parents have
raised concerns about higher tuition. For
the current year, only 12 percent of the
students applied for financial aid.
“Parishes and the Diocese have been heavily
subsidizing Catholic education, contributing
approximately $17 million each year,” Mr.
Quinn said. “It is not unreasonable to ask
parents to assume a greater share in the
actual cost of their children’s education.
It is also appropriate to require all
families to satisfy any current tuition
obligations before they enter the 2007-08
school year.”
He said that several schools have large
amounts of tuition that has not been paid
for the current and previous school years.
“We regret that a higher tuition may impact
family budgets in some cases, but there is
no other way to adequately fund the
schools,” he said. “The parishes cannot
afford it. And the perception that the
Diocese has the money to bail out these
schools is simply not true.”
A careful reading of the new tuition policy
will show the effort being made by the
Diocese to assist large families and those
with limited incomes.
Mr. Casciano said the Diocese has indeed
considered that some families will be
affected by higher tuition, but he stressed
that for those who qualify there are sources
of financial aid to help cover the cost.
For example, an additional means of
financial assistance for those with the most
financial need will go into effect for the
coming year. An automatic scholarship of
$200 per elementary student and $400 per
high school student will be awarded to
families who are eligible under the same
income guidelines established by the federal
government for the free and reduced lunch
program.
This is in addition to the existing tuition
assistance provided each year through the
Diocese of Scranton Scholarship Foundation.
Over the last five years, the Foundation has
provided $5,090,064 in financial assistance
to 5,273 students. These awards are based on
need. For the current year, 1,039 students
received assistance and the average award
was $839.
Families are also encouraged to inquire
about special scholarships that may be
available in their particular community.
Information about all of these scholarships
is available at each school.
“The Diocese recognizes that many families
are making a financial sacrifice to send
their children to a Catholic school, so
every effort is being made to alleviate the
burden as much as possible,” Mr. Casciano
said.
He stressed that the new cost structure is
family oriented and based not on individual
schools but on a K-12 system. He cited, for
example, that discounts for multiple
students apply across all grade levels, not
just within a school. The same principle
applies to the registration and fund-raising
fees, and to the application process for
financial aid.
For example, the $100
non-refundable registration fee is not for
each student; it is per family within the
K-12 system, no matter how many children are
enrolled in that system.
Also, the fee will cover the
per-family cost to enroll in the FACTS
tuition installment payment program and the
fee for the Private School Aid Service (PSAS)
application for those families who apply for
financial aid. These two costs total
approximately $60.
Currently, some schools have
fund-raising fees of varying amounts. The
$500 fund-raising fee will be a uniform fee
at all schools.
As with the registration fee,
the fund-raising fee is not for each
student; it is per family within the K-12
system, no matter how many children are
enrolled in that system.
Furthermore, Mr. Casciano
explained, it is not really a “fee” that
families will have to “pay” up front.
Rather, every family is expected to
participate in school fund-raising
activities to raise a minimum of $500 over
the course of the year. If the family raises
more than $500, the extra money will be
applied to the tuition bill. How the $500 is
calculated will be determined by each school
based on its demographics and past
practices.
Under the present school structure in the
Diocese, individual parishes or boards of
pastors have established tuition and other
policies for their respective schools. Thus,
tuitions have varied from school to school,
and in some cases there are significant
disparities.
Because of the aforementioned disparities,
adjustments have been made, but there are
still some differences for the first year to
avoid a major jump in tuition for some
institutions that had been significantly
lower in cost than their counterparts.
Mr. Casciano and Mr. Quinn encouraged
families to examine the new tuition rate at
their school, the discounts for multiple
students in the K-12 system, and the various
forms of financial aid for families with the
most need. They provided the following
example to illustrate a comparison between
current and new tuition costs:
TUITION COMPARISON
Example of one student in high school and two in
elementary school;
family with annual income less than $35,000
Current New
1st child at Bishop Hoban/Holy
Redeemer HS $4,940 $4,500
Fund-raising
fee*
$575 $500
Less automatic
scholarship**
0 ($400)
1st child at St. Nicholas/St.
Mary, Wilkes-Barre $1,695
$2,200
Fund-raising fee per
family
$150 0
Less family discount for 2nd
child in system 0
($200)
Less automatic
scholarship**
0 ($200)
2nd child at St. Nicholas/St.
Mary $1,595
$2,000
Fund-raising
fee
0 0
Less family discount for 3rd
child in system 0
($200)
Less automatic
scholarship**
0 ($200)
Total for 3 students in K-12
system
$8,955 $8,000***
*This is not really a “fee”
that families will have to “pay” up front.
Rather, every family is expected to
participate in school fund-raising
activities to raise a minimum of $500 over
the course of the year. If the family raises
more than $500, the extra money will be
applied to the tuition bill. How the $500 is
calculated will be determined by each school
based on its demographics and past
practices.
**This is a new form of financial
assistance for those with the most financial
need. An automatic scholarship of $200 per
elementary student and $400 per high school
student will be awarded to families who are
eligible under the same income guidelines
established by the federal government for
the free and reduced lunch program.
***Financial aid is also available from
the Diocese of Scranton Scholarship
Foundation to families who qualify based on
need. The average award for the current year
is $839 per student. In the case cited
above, the family’s total cost could be
reduced by as much as $2,517.
