| St. John of the Cross | Queen of Peace | St. David |
“Working Together to Provide Quality, Catholic Education in our Neighborhood”
November 2009
The School Steering Committee met on Monday, October 19th and toured St. David’s school. The Committee then discussed and agreed that the following are specific issues that our formulated options must address:
- In the short-term, how do we achieve a 100% retention rate for current enrollment at all three schools?
- In the long run, how do we maintain or increase enrollment at our schools?
- Will each parish / school community support our final decision?
- If a regional school is the option, how do we help parents/parishioners bridge the gap between belonging to a regional school and belonging to an individual parish?
- How will the new option effect tuition and parish subsidy?
Further, the Steering Committee identified and agreed that the following criteria will be used to evaluate options that ensure access to quality and sustainable Catholic elementary education:
- Options must be financially feasible based on affordable tuition and a reasonable amount of Parish Subsidy.
- Options must offer all programs recommended by the Office of Catholic Education and the existing facility must have reasonable accommodations to provide for the school’s current and future needs.
O’Donnell & Naccarato, a consulting structural engineering firm performed a Building Systems Review of the three school buildings. Their findings were documented in a separate report for each school. These reports are being read and will be discussed and analyzed during our next steering committee meeting.
Baptisms / Enrollment / Parish Subsidy Statistics
(St. John of the Cross * Queen of Peace * St. David):
Baptisms performed in all three parishes totaled 240 in 2004 and 139 in 2008 – a decrease of 101 or 42% in just 5 years.
The combined school enrollment (Pre-K through 8th Grade) in all three schools totaled 861 students during the 2003-2004 school year. The enrollment dropped to 549 in the current 2009-2010 school year – a decrease of 312 or 36%.
For the three parishes, the Parish Subsidy covered 36% to 42% of the school’s operating expenses for the 2007-2008 school year, substantially above the Archdiocese recommended level.
This review process continues to entail a broad consultation process involving the School Study Committee from each parish and school community. The Steering Committee will continue to publicize updates on the progress of this review through the church bulletin. At the conclusion of the consultation process, the Steering Committee will present a recommendation to the Cardinal regarding the parish elementary schools. The report is expected to be completed by the January 2010