By Thea Jarvis

An ad hoc committee on Catholic school tuition and related parish support policies has been convened by Archbishop James P. Lyke, OFM, to address concerns of parents and pastors about increased costs of Catholic education.

The committee, composed primarily of pastor-nominated laypersons and chaired by state Senator Michael J. Egan, met in mid-June to begin work. In preparation for its next meeting Aug. 17, subcommittees of the ad hoc group are gathering for informal, round-table discussions of issues and options. After summer meetings, the committee plans parish-based hearings to elicit opinions from the public.

"We want to be in every area of the archdiocese where people can come and let us know what they think about (Catholic education)," Senator Egan said.

Egan, a Cathedral parishioner whose six children attended Christ the King School, was associate attorney general for the Carter administration and served in the Georgia House of Representatives for over 10 years prior to his Washington appointment. He chairs a committee of 28 laymen and women who represent each parish with 20 or more children attending Catholic schools.

The committee also includes a representative from the archdiocesan board of education, St. Pius X and Marist School, a Catholic elementary and high school principal, two pastors appointed by Archbishop Lyke and two priests nominated by the Priests' Council.

The Secretariat for Education is serving as staff to the committee and the finance and development offices of the archdiocese are committee resources.

In a May letter to committee appointees, Archbishop Lyke wrote that one of the first matters that came to his attention when he arrived in the archdiocese was "the growing cost of parochial school tuition and the increasing financial support from our parishes to these schools."

"To maintain Catholic schools with their traditional reputation of quality education requires a realistic tuition and parish support policy," the archbishop noted.

Increasingly, the difficulty of establishing an equitable and affordable policy for parents who pay for Catholic tuition and pastors who must augment these tuitions with parish funds has become evident.

At a convocation of archdiocesan priests held last fall, several priests expressed concern about parish subsidies paid to Catholic schools outside the parish for children attending those schools. Subsidies range from $700 to $1,000 per child depending on the school in question. Using guidelines developed by the archdiocese in 1975, feeder parishes which send children from their parish to other parish elementary schools are billed for the determined subsidy per student.

St. Pius X High School receives direct archdiocesan funding for financial aid to qualifying students, but does not receive per student subsidies from parishes, said Philip H. McGonegal, Jr., director of finance and operations for the school.

"Everyone agrees that the cost of Catholic schools is becoming prohibitive," Sister Roberta Schmidt, CSJ, Secretary for Education, had told parents at the 1991 convocation. "Tuition and parish subsidies escalate annually. New funding solutions have to be found."

The ad hoc committee on school tuition and parish support policies is an expanded effort to identify such solutions, Senator Egan pointed out.

"It is the natural tendency of parents of children in school to want to keep tuitions down," he said. "This runs contrary to the natural desire of pastors to keep subsidies down. There has to be a happy medium."

Egan's committee is successor to a committee of the Priests' Council, headed by Monsignor Donald Kiernan, which made recommendations to the archbishop in 1992. The 1992 committee has a broader consultative base, involving the laity and educational professionals as well as clergy.

"We are not in any crisis position," Senator Egan said, but "it's well to study, to plan ahead and look at the situation."

He said it has been almost 20 years since the guidelines were put in place. Reviewing alternatives means insuring current norms are appropriate and making adjustments where needed. The committee will consider various funding sources, including tuition, scholarships and parish support. He expects "they will all combine to make it work."

Egan believes the archdiocese must make sure Catholic education is not just for a select few. Elitism "is something to be avoided," he said.

He also hopes people in the pew understand that their opinions are valued and critical to the collaborative process.

"We're not plotting anything," he said. As one who has himself served on parish committees, he understands the frequent perception that decisions are made from the top down. "We want people's input," he emphasized.

Egan hopes his committee will make recommendations to Archbishop Lyke at the beginning of next year, allowing implementation and decision-making for the 1993-94 school year.

Members of the committee include parish representatives LaVerne Iffaldano, All Saints; Sarah Adams, Christ the King; Barbara Collier, Christ Our Hope; John Hegarty, Corpus Christi; Al Mena, Holy Cross; and Andrew Naples, Holy Family.

Sherry Maloney represents Holy Spirit; Mark Gannon, Immaculate Heart of Mary; Don Heroman, Our Lady of the Assumption; Jacob Benjamin, Our Lady of Lourdes; Mary Beth Grady, Sacred Heart, Atlanta; John Almeter, St. Andrew; Michele Boyle, St. Ann; and Juanita Smith, St. Anthony.

ST. Benedict's parish representative is Robert Perfetti; James Hourigan, St. Catherine of Siena; Karen Sullivan, St. John the Evangelist; Chip Wood, St. John Neumann; Don Jackson, St. Joseph, Athens; Richard Macchia, St. Joseph, Marietta; and Michael Reeves, St. Jude.

St. Mary, Rome, is represented by William Conner; Michael Burdette, St. Patrick; Janice Shaw, Sts. Peter and Paul; Maureen Thompson, St. Thomas Aquinas; William Maron, St. Thomas More; Frances Kennedy, St. Thomas the Apostle; and Paul Montello, Transfiguration.

In addition to these parishes, archdiocesan educational institutions are also represented on the committee. Allen Conroy represents the archdiocesan Board of Education; Philip McGonegal, St. Pius X High School; and Bill Schmitz, Marist School.

Sister Dawn Gear, GNSH, is an elementary school principal serving on the committee and Donald Sasso is a secondary school representative. Monsignor Donald Kiernan and Father Daniel O'Connor are pastors appointed to the committee.

Father Thomas Carroll, MS, and Father Peter Dora were nominated by the Priests' Council.

Archdiocesan Superintendent of Schools Maureen Kane and Secretary for Education Sister Roberta Schmidt, CSJ, are archdiocesan staff to the committee.