By Gretchen Keiser

An eight-member task force has been established at the request of Archbishop Eugene A. Marino, S.S.J., to review three schools studies and give him concrete recommendations and long-range proposals for development of the Catholic school system.

The reports are a professional consulting firm’s study of the 14 elementary schools in the archdiocese that was completed in May 1988; a multi-parish study of the possibility of constructing a high school in the northwest Atlanta area; and a multi-parish study of the possibility of constructing a high school on the south side of the diocese.

The study of archdiocesan elementary schools, called the Neal Meitler report, makes 34 recommendations to the archdiocese, among them; the possible construction of future elementary schools; a possible redistribution of the cost of Catholic education so that it is affordable by more families; and a greater emphasis upon evangelization where non-Catholics make up a significant percentage of the school population.

The deanery study of a possible high school in northwest Atlanta was carried out by 11 parishes, spearheaded by a committee from St. Ann’s in Marietta. It was presented to the archdiocesan Board of Education in February, 1988, prior to the archbishop’s appointment.

The feasibility study for a possible high school on the south side of the diocese was undertaken by 10 parishes in the two southern deaneries. It was presented to the archdiocese in November 1988.

Both studies compiled statistical data in their respective parishes, and real estate projections, to support the concept of building a high school in each area.

The task force members, who will be under the direction of Sister Roberta Schmidt, C.S.J., secretary for education, are: Father Edward Dillon, vicar general and pastor of Holy Spirit parish, Atlanta; Father Peter Ludden, chancellor; Monsignor Donald Kiernan, pastor of All Saints parish, Dunwoody; Father Richard Kieran, rector of the Cathedral of Christ the King; Father Richard Wise, pastor of Sts. Peter and Paul, Decatur; Father Thomas Carroll, M.S., pastor of St. Ann’s; Leon Allain, permanent deacon from St. Paul of the Cross parish, Atlanta.

The members include representation from the parishes that took part in the two deanery studies and also pastors with a background in Catholic education, like Father Kieran, a former education secretary for the archdiocese, and Monsignor Kiernan, who has pastored several parishes with Catholic schools, among them St. Anthony’s, Immaculate Heart of Mary and St. Jude’s.

Emphasis is upon looking at the proposals as a unit and making recommendations to the archbishop that would plan for the next 10 to 20 years.

“I look to this Task Force to consider all the proposals now before us about our schools and about future developments,” Archbishop Marino said in a letter to members. “My wish is that the Task Force take a comprehensive approach to these proposals and to the subject of Catholic education. The ultimate goal should be to produce a report which will be a blueprint for Catholic schools in the archdiocese.”

Since the content of the Neal Meitler report is broad and includes specific recommendations for construction, as well as specific recommendations for financing the present schools, one function of the Task Force will be to weigh what can and cannot be done and how it could be paid for.

“Obviously there will have to be a great deal of balancing and prioritizing done,” said Father Dillon.

Sister Roberta Schmidt noted that the Neil Meitler report was commissioned and paid for by the archdiocese and extended from April 1987 to May 1988. School personnel, pastors and parishes were involved in that study. The two high school studies sprang from grassroots interest and parental desire to see the schools built.

In addition to meeting as a task force and possible sub-committees she would like the group to meet with a representative body of parishioners from each high school study.

It is hoped that a substantial amount of work can be accomplished by May of this year. A written report will be given to the archbishop from the task force.

The Neil Meitler report is 64 pages long and was prepared by a Milwaukee, Wisc. consulting firm. Topics covered include the Catholic character of schools; enrollment figures; financial figures; the governing structure of existing schools and proposed future school building and organizations.

Among the recommendations that are to be reviewed and discussed by the task force from that report are:

ENROLLMENT QUESTIONS

Elementary schools should recruit to fill all classrooms to meet the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools’ standard established for every grade level, particularly looking at enrollments in the lower grades.

Principals should meet each fall with pastors from parishes that send 10 percent or higher number of children to the school to provide enrollment and program information.

Consider restructuring the subsidy charge to parishes that do not have schools to a standard formula, rather than the varying rates now set by individual schools.

Change the revenue-mix of schools in future years by moderating the percentage increase in tuition, and putting greater reliance upon development income and subsidy to meet the difference.

Put a cap on the parish subsidy to an elementary school so that it does not exceed a certain percentage of the parish’s ordinary income. Their recommended cap is 35 percent.

Discourage any parish practice of expecting parents with children in school to give a certain amount to the parish to offset the subsidy the parish provides for their children.

Review the rates charged for non-Catholic tuition at schools to implement a policy that non-Catholics pay a rate equivalent to the cost-per-pupil, not to exceed a figure of that cost plus a depreciation percentage.

Require every school to have a tuition assistance program for Catholic children and make the assistance available to children of every parish providing subsidy to the school.

OWNERSHIP/GOVERNANCE QUESTIONS

Recommend no change in the governance of parish schools that serve primarily one parish: Christ the King; St. Joseph, Athens; St. John the Evangelist, Hapeville.

Provide a voting school board representative from each Catholic parish which has 10 percent or more of the student body; involve supporting pastors in budget development; review subsidy formula in schools that serve several parishes. These schools the report identified as: Immaculate Heart of Mary; Our Lady of the Assumption; St. Joseph, Marietta; St. Jude, Sandy Springs; St. Thomas More, Decatur.

In schools that have a subsidy from the archdiocese or depend heavily on non-Catholic attendance and tuition (identified as Our Lady of Lourdes, St. Anthony, St. Paul of the Cross, St. Mary’s, Rome, Sts. Peter and Paul, Decatur): If subsidized by the archdiocese, an archdiocesan staff person or member designated by the archbishop be appointed to the school board; in all cases, communicate about the mission and ministry of the schools to all parishes in the archdiocese and focus on evangelization and Catholic nature of schools.

Reclassify St. John Neumann as a parish area school rather than a regional school since it operates from a specific parish location; reevaluate the funding; provide a substantial tuition assistance fund.

Approve a policy which permits parents from parishes without a school to enroll their child in the Catholic school of their choice. Policy would include that parents from parishes with a school would be expected to enroll children in the parish school. If they chose to enroll their child in another Catholic school, they would pay that school’s non-Catholic tuition rate.

FUTURE SCHOOL RECOMMENDATIONS

Investigate the potential for construction of new elementary schools in eight specific geographic areas over the next 10 years, with the emphasis upon developing a clear set of priorities for the construction of new schools; balancing those priorities with the possible needs for Catholic high schools (which the report did not study); and prudently weighing the economic constraints.

The report recommended priority be given to the opening of a new elementary school south of metro Atlanta in Fayette County. Other possible areas to study were: North Fulton County identified as an immediate need; East Cobb county, identified as an immediate need; Cherokee County in the next five years; Conyers and Douglasville in Rockdale County in the next five years; Hall County and Henry County in the next 10 years.

Recommend that the archdiocese develop and approve a policy which establishes criteria to be used to determine the viability of a school.

Recommend that the archdiocese adopt a policy outlining steps to be taken where the viability of a school is considered questionable.