By Kathi Stearns

An ad hoc committee report on Catholic School funding recommends that an endowment be established that would assure the future of elementary Catholic school education while avoiding crisis management at a later date.

Under the proposal the endowment, which would be called the Archbishop James P. Lyke Memorial Foundation, would, once funded, generate 25 percent of the operating expenses of Catholic elementary schools.

The committee recommends that the Foundation generate funding from four primary sources. These would include a five percent surcharge taken from each parish's offertory collection; 10 percent of each school's annual fund; an archdiocesan annual collection specifically for the support of the Lyke Foundation; and tapping individual and corporate donors interested in Catholic elementary education.

Under the proposal, the surcharge on the parish collections and school annual funds would be eliminated as soon as investment income from the endowment provides 25 percent of the operating funds of Catholic elementary schools. Initial calculations show that this would take 14 to 17 years.

The ad hoc committee on school tuition/parish support policies convened in spring of 1992 under a mandate from the late Archbishop Lyke to address the increasing cost of Catholic education, and current archdiocesan tuition and subsidy policies. The committee was composed of laymen and women from each parish with 10 or more children attending Catholic Schools.

The committee also included representatives from the archdiocesan Board of Education, St. Pius X High School 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 committee was chaired by state Sen. Michael Egan, a parishioner of Christ the King.

A series of public hearings held at an Oct. 20 meeting by the committee throughout the archdiocese last fall aired the opinions by hundreds who attended, primarily parents who believe there is insufficient support for Catholic school education from sources other than tuition.

Before convening the ad hoc committee, Archbishop Lyke had heard concerns of some pastors who were concerned that subsidies paid to assist parishes with schools were becoming too high and significantly impacted the amount of money left in the parish to education Catholic children attending public schools. The report by the committee was presented to Archbishop John Donoghue last of the committee.

Archbishop Donoghue spoke to the committee members during the meeting, affirming the importance of the future of Catholic schools and recognizing the work of the committee as a good starting point. "I've always been convinced that Catholic schools are the backbone of the church in every diocese," he explained.

"I do want to meet with the diocesan Consultors, the Priests Council, the finance committee and the pastors and discuss all of the recommendations which you have presented and see to what extent we can implement your recommendations. I suspect there will be some changes ... I will do everything I can to see that our Catholic schools survive," Archbishop Donoghue said.

The report calls for the public affirmation of Catholic schools. "Catholic education is the future of our church. The past few years education has been put aside and this report reestablished Catholic education as a priority," Sister Dawn Gear, GNSH, principal of St. John Neumann Regional School and member of the ad hoc committee explained. "It (Catholic education) is the responsibility of everyone. Everyone wants it, but no one wants to pay for it."

In 1990-91 tuition and fees constituted 68.35 percent of the operating revenue of elementary schools while parish investment made up 21.76 percent. Ten percent was derived from other sources. The report indicates, "As costs continue to rise, the increase cannot be met by increasing tuition and parish investment alone..."

In response to these concerns the committee proposes a new school funding formula which would be 50 percent tuition, 25 percent parish investment and 25 percent income from the endowment. This formula would become effective once adequate funds are available in the Archbishop Lyke Memorial Foundation. The committee surveyed a number of dioceses, and all surveyed have an endowment specifically for the purpose of funding Catholic schools.

Father Terry Young, Secretary for Education, commended the committee for its effort. "The report challenges other people to come up with other creative ideas (regarding funding) if they don't like these. It's going to be a real challenge to others ... to come up with something of equal quality."

At a 1991 convocation of archdiocesan priests, budgetary implications of parish subsidies for Catholic schools was a major concern. Using guidelines developed by the archdiocese in 1975, feeder parishes sending children to other parish elementary schools in 1991 were billed anywhere from $700 to $1000 for each child. This figure changes each year depending on the school budget.

"My concern has always been that the current funding model evolved into a per pupil head tax. The funding is looked at as funding for that child, rather than funding for Catholic education," Maureen Kane, superintendent of schools, said.

In addition to funding the Lyke Memorial foundation, parishes would need to continue to support Catholic elementary education by providing a portion of each year's operating expenses under the proposal. The committee noted that many problems result from the per-capita method of calculation parish support for elementary schools. The committee felt it was appropriate that all parishes contribute to the ministry of Catholic elementary schools.

The report reflected that from 1983 to 1992 the average offertory collection in the archdiocese increased approximately 10 percent annually. A statistical projection indicates that the amount will continue to grow. Therefore the committee recommended that parish investment be based on a percentage of revenue in the future.

The committee also felt that parish investment should be paid to a central fund and then paid from the central fund to each school based on Catholic student enrollment. The committee believes that this method would redistribute the cost more equitably and also ensure that funds for Catholic education would grow as the offertory increases from stewardship and population growth. Parishes currently paying subsidy would pay the greater of this new percentage assessment or their current subsidy, with the surplus being used to assist the Lyke Foundation.

Ms. Kane recognized the hardships individual parishes might face if this proposal were accepted by the archbishop as submitted. "I believe this would be an additional financial responsibility for parishes which could cause hardships for already existing programs."

She felt that if this proposal was accepted, a stewardship program should be implemented to educate the parishioners about what their generosity means to Catholic elementary schools. "The more aware we can make people, the better able we are to achieve the goals of the ministries," she said.

"However, we are here to support the work of the church, and education is one of the components which will secure the future of the church," Ms. Kane explained.

The ad hoc committee also suggested the establishment of an elementary school committee, comprised of qualifies representatives from both the host and feeder parishes, who would report to the principal and advise the principal on matters of local policy making and school governance.

Also sought by the ad hoc committee is the formation of an archdiocesan elementary school committee, composed of qualified representatives from the elementary school committees, to ensure consistency among schools while providing a forum to discuss "best practices" in each school.

In order to facilitate the fair implementation of the recommendations, the committee cited a need for a uniform financial information system to be implemented. Uniform accounting procedures should be used and all school accounts should be separate from other parish accounts.

In order to facilitate the collection of tuition and to standardize records, the committee suggested the establishment of a third party tuition collection system, which would be employed by the archdiocese and implemented in each school.

The committee also recommended that a uniform archdiocesan policy for awarding tuition assistance should be established in order to assure a consistent, objective and equitable method of awarding tuition aid.

The committee recommended that a strategic planning process be initiated so that a vision of Catholic education can be outlined and decisions can be made to bring about the realization of that vision.

"I don't want to close schools. As a matter of fact, I would like to be able to open a few schools. The only way we are going to be able to do that is if all of these, or most of these recommendations in some form are accepted," Archbishop Donoghue commented at the meeting.

While bishop in Charlotte, NC, archbishop Donoghue regionalized the Catholic schools. The structure grouped schools in a particular geographic location under the authority of a regional board. The board established policies, regulated finances and reviewed school programs.

In an interview Archbishop Donoghue explained that he was "open to whatever the proper answer" is for Atlanta's archdiocesan elementary schools. "Just because regionalization was the answer in Charlotte, doesn't mean it's the answer in Atlanta."

Committee chairman Egan said he "hoped the archbishop would share copies of the report with the Finance council, the pastors, and the Priest's Council."

The report deals only with funding the present elementary school system, not with the high school, or with any question of future expansion.