st dennis parish school tuition meeting february 23, 2005 finance commission membership –bill...

St Dennis ParishSchool Tuition Meeting

February 23, 2005

• Finance Commission membership– Bill Wheeler, pastoral council president– Don Paulson, pastoral council member– Brian Burant CPA– Ed Drake CFP– Peter Oettinger CPA– Craig Uselman CPA, pastoral council member– Tom Krajewski– John Thompson

School Finance Discussion

• Presentation– Asking for what we need

– Charts on School Costs and Revenues

– Recommendations

• Open Discussion

‘Ask for what you need’ Matt 7:7-11

• St Dennis’ challenges– We MUST ask for substantially more support both

from school parents and general parishioners

• School parents’ challenges– Difficulty with ability to increase giving

• W W J D? We have always been fair & will be now• Bring your financial information (paycheck) and talk privately

with Father Schmitt• We expect more people to ask for and receive some Tuition

Assistance Grants

– Difficulty with willingness to increase giving• ‘the worker deserves his wages’ Luke 10:2-7

St Dennis School Revenue

35.5%

5.8%

55.6%

3.1%

Tuition & Fees

Fundraising (net)

Parish support

Endowment, Grants, etc

Sources of School Support• The following slide shows

– the percent of school costs covered by various funding sources - for 7 local schools and the nationwide Catholic elementary school averages

– …In descending order by % from Tuition and Fees– …Shows the number of pupils at each local school – notice the three

smallest schools are at the bottom?– Data is from latest Diocesan report and National Catholic Education

Association (who sampled 1 of every 6 schools incl Maria Goretti)

• Observations– Parents contribute 35.5% of St Dennis costs through tuition & fees– Parents deserve a nod for contributing more than Tuition & Fees plus

net fundraising – they paid most of the gross fundraising, too– But even with fees and fundraising proceeds, St Dennis school is getting

only 41.3% of its costs from parents– 55.6% of school funding comes from the parish (per our own school’s

numbers as reported to the Diocese)– National averages are 61% tuition & fees and 22% parish support

Sources of Catholic School Support Madison-Area Information per 2004-2005 Catholic School Data Report

National Average per National Catholic Education Association

34.2%

35.5%

46.1%

49.4%

52.2%

60.8%

63.2%

69.1%

4.8%

5.8%

0.4%

3.7%

4.0%

8.6%

8.3%

4.5%

57.7%

55.6%

45.1%

34.2%

41.8%

22.6%

21.8%

22.7%

3.3%

3.1%

8.5%

12.6%

2.0%

8.0%

6.7%

3.6%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Immaculate Heart (139)

St Dennis (195 pupils)

St James (143)

Maria Goretti (379)

Queen of Peace (483)

NATIONAL AVERAGE

Sacred Hearts (446)

Blessed Sacrament (310)

percent of costs covered

Tuition & Fees Fundraising (net) Parish support Endowment, Grants, etc

St Dennis School Costs

68.3%

7.9%

15.4%

3.2%

3.9%

1.2%

Salaries

FICA/benefits

Matls/supplies

Maintenance

Utilities

Other

Catholic School Costs• On the next slide, the same schools are shown again, as NCEA

does not report on costs (probably due to variability in classification making it less meaningful)

• …In descending order by the sum of Salaries plus FICA/benefits• The left side of the scale starts at 60% (to zoom in on the detail)• St Dennis appears to hold the line well on salaries and benefits, no

doubt due to the fact that we pay only 50% of health costs and just a 3% retirement rate (vs St James at 100% and 6% respectively)

• Maintenance, Utilities and Other costs do not appear to be a problem

• Immaculate Heart’s salaries and benefits are over 90% of costs?

Catholic School CostsMadison-Area Information per 2004-2005 Catholic School Data Report

(National Cost Category Detail Not Available from Natl Catholic Education Association)

65.6%

68.3%

66.6%

64.7%

72.2%

76.2%

77.9%

9.8%

7.9%

11.6%

14.9%

11.8%

9.6%

12.8%

5.4%

15.4%

2.7%

7.9%

12.2%

4.5%

4.6%

5.1%

3.2%

9.6%

4.6%

0.8%

5.0%

0.9%

1.3%

3.9%

4.9%

7.1%

3.0%

3.5%

0.4%

12.7%

1.2%

4.7%

0.7%

0.0%

1.2%

3.5%

60% 65% 70% 75% 80% 85% 90% 95% 100%

Maria Goretti (379)



St James (143)


Sacred Hearts (446)


percent of total costs

Salaries FICA/benefits Matls/supplies Maintenance Utilities Other

Per-Pupil Expense2004-2005 Madison-Area Information per the Catholic School Data Report 2002-2003 Regional Average (WI IL MI IN OH) per Natl Catholic Educ Assoc

$2,976

$3,075

$3,678

$3,762

$3,877

$3,963

$4,481

$4,791

$- $500 $1,000 $1,500 $2,000 $2,500 $3,000 $3,500 $4,000 $4,500 $5,000

Sacred Hearts (446)

Maria Goretti (379)


2002-2003 REGIONALAVERAGES (add 10-15%)




St James (143)

Tuition Charge for Parishioner's First Student & Per-Pupil Expense

Class Size and Per-Pupil Expense(St Dennis is at $4481 and 13.5)

11.5

13.5

18

18.3

19.2

11.7

18.6

$2,500

$3,000

$3,500

$4,000

$4,500

$5,000

10 12 14 16 18 20 22

Students Per Teacher

Per-P

upil

Expe

nse

Base Tuition2004-2005 Madison-Area Information per the Catholic School Data Report 2002-2003 Regional Average (WI IL MI IN OH) per Natl Catholic Educ Assoc

$1,550

$1,560

$1,560

$1,608

$1,802

$1,900

$1,980

$2,025

$- $500 $1,000 $1,500 $2,000 $2,500


Maria Goretti (379)




St James (143)

Sacred Hearts (446)



Per-Pupil Expense and Tuition• Following slide shows schools’ current school year budget figures• …In descending order by per-pupil expense• NCEA regional averages are used (WI, IL, OH, MI, IN) which are

lower than national averages and more comparable to us• However, regional averages are for 2002-2003 school year – two

years older than the local schools’ figures, so jack them up in your mind

• ‘Base’ tuition is for parishioner’s first child, and local schools’ tuition range within a $400 range of each other – the only reasonable basis to compare tuition rates between schools

• All local schools’ tuition rates are below the 2-year old regional average base tuition of $2025 (St Dennis is $417 below it)

• Per-pupil expense ranges almost $2000 due to economies of scale and other factors

• Again notice the three smallest schools are together with highest per-pupil expense, lacking those economies of scale

• Spread $100,000 of cost to 483 Queen of Peace students: $207 each• Spread $100,000 of cost to 139 IHM students: $719 each

Per-Pupil Expense & Tuition2004-2005 Madison-Area Information per the Catholic School Data Report 2002-2003 Regional Average (WI IL MI IN OH) per Natl Catholic Educ Assoc

$1,980

$1,560

$1,550

$2,025

$1,802

$1,560

$1,608

$1,900

$2,976

$3,075

$3,678

$3,762

$3,877

$3,963

$4,481

$4,791

$- $500 $1,000 $1,500 $2,000 $2,500 $3,000 $3,500 $4,000 $4,500 $5,000

Sacred Hearts (446)

Maria Goretti (379)






St James (143)


Per-pupil Expense

Base Tuition

Parishioner vs Non-Parishioner Tuition Ratesper 2004-2005 Catholic School Data Report

$1,550

$1,560

$1,560

$1,608

$1,802

$1,900

$1,980

$3,605

$2,580

$1,560

$3,216

$4,253

$3,160

$2,846

$- $500 $1,000 $1,500 $2,000 $2,500 $3,000 $3,500 $4,000 $4,500



Maria Goretti (379)



St James (143)

Sacred Hearts (446)

Tuition Rate

Nonparisher Tuition

Parishioner Tuition (1st Child)

Tuition Revenue & Tuition Rates• The following slide shows just the local schools’ base tuition rates

(as in the last slide) along with the non-parishioner rate and the calculated average tuition revenue per pupil

• …In descending order by average tuition revenue• The first three schools shown have average tuition revenue greater

than base tuition, due to significant non-parishioner tuition revenue• The rest have lower average tuition revenue than base tuition rate,

due to these factors– Little or no higher-rate non-parishioner tuition revenue– Discounts offered on tuition for second and third children in a family– Uncollected tuition

• Of the three smallest schools, only St James has average revenue higher than base due to non-parishioner tuition revenue

• In the Diocesan report, Maria Goretti showed significant grant revenue, which offset significant student services costs, which may affect the average tuition revenue shown for them

• Otherwise, Immaculate Heart and St Dennis again bring up the extreme end of the chart

Tuition Revenue vs Tuition Ratesper 2004-2005 Catholic School Data Report

$1,560

$1,608

$1,560

$1,980

$1,550

$1,900

$1,802

$1,296

$1,428

$1,447

$1,855

$1,857

$2,082

$2,652

$1,560

$3,216

$2,580

$2,846

$3,605

$3,160

$4,253

$- $500 $1,000 $1,500 $2,000 $2,500 $3,000 $3,500 $4,000 $4,500

Maria Goretti (379)



Sacred Hearts (446)


St James (143)


Tuition Rate

Nonparisher TuitionAverage Tuition Revenue per Pupil

Parishioner Tuition (1st Child)

Multi-Child Discount Rates

0%

5%

10%

15%

0%

2%

4%

6%

8%

10%

12%

14%

16%

1 2 3 4

Number of Family Children Attending School

Perc

ent o

f Bas

e Tu

ition

Parish Support Paid for Each Family• The next slide shows the parish ‘subsidy’ by number of registered children

in the current school year

• Even Non-Parishioner families charged $3216 per child pay less than it costs to educate their children

• The average parish support per pupil is about $2500

• Amounts come from the General Fund, the Endowment Fund (about $20,000) and Tuition Assistance Grants for those unable to pay in full

• This slide focuses on the benefit to each family what was on an earlier slide at the ‘macro’ level – how 55.6% of school expenses are paid by parish support and 3.6% by other sources

• Parishioners whose first child started at St Dennis by 1999 are ‘Grandfathered’ into a more generous tuition discount scale in exchange for promises to do aggressive fundraising

Parish Support Paid for Each School Family2004-2005 School Year

$841

$2,449

$5,060

$7,830

$10,761

$- $2,000 $4,000 $6,000 $8,000 $10,000 $12,000

1

2

3

4

Chi

ldre

n

Amounts Paid from General & Endowment Funds, Donations & Misc Income

Regular Parishioners

Non-Parishioners paying $3216

Contributions by St Dennis Families• This slide shows

– school family contributions to the general fund for the calendar year 2004

– No identifying information was gathered by the committee to compile this information, but rather parish staff in charge of envelopes gave us this

• Observations– 23 families donated nothing at all– 8 families donating nothing are not even registered as parishioners but

are paying reduced parishioner tuition rates– Another 27 families gave less than $100 each for the year 2004– 16 families gave more than $1000

• Other relevant information– The highest contributing families still did not pay equal to the $2440

support paid by St Dennis Parish for a family with one child in school• Conclusion

– Though of course all school families are fully part of the parish, analysis shows no school family pays more than it gets

Contributions by St Dennis School FamiliesCalendar Year 2004

23

27

25

21

1716

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

$0 $1 - $100 $100 - $300 $300 - $500 $500 - $1000 >$1000Contribution Range

Fam

ilies C

ontri

butin

g at

Lev

el

• This slide shows – total cumulative calendar year 2004 contributions by all school families, ranked in

order from the least contributed to the most– It’s as if you lined everyone up according to how much they gave and kept a

running tally of the group’s giving.• Observations

– The 80 lowest contributing families donated a combined total of $8000, which is only enough to pay the parish support for ONE school family with three children

– The total contributed to the parish General Fund for all families in 2004 was less than $55,000 or a little more than net proceeds from fundraising efforts

• What other parishes do– Blessed Sacrament reported to the Diocese they set a tithe of $780 to qualify for

parishioner tuition rates. – The Queen of Peace parish tithe is $960 to qualify there– (‘Tithe’ comes from ‘ten’ and originally meant giving 10% of your income to

Church)• Conclusions

– If a $780 tithe had been required at St Dennis 111 of 129 parish families (86%) would NOT have qualified for parishioner tuition rates

– If a $780 tithe had been required at St Dennis, the 45 lowest contributing families COMBINED would not have qualified for parishioner tuition rates for ONE of those families

Contributions by St Dennis Families

Contributions by St Dennis School Familiescumulative 2004 total contributions

$0

$10,000

$20,000

$30,000

$40,000

$50,000

$60,000

1 11 21 31 41 51 61 71 81 91 101 111 121 131

School Families, Ranked Lowest to Highest in Contribution

Cum

ulat

ive G

roup

Con

tribu

tion

Contributions by School Families & All Parish Families 2004 Actual

$1

$10

$100

$1,000

$10,000

$100,000

1% 9% 17% 26% 34% 42% 50% 59% 67% 75% 83% 92% 100%

Percentile (Rank) Among Those Actually Contributing

2004

Fam

ily C

ontr

ibut

ion

106 School Families

All 1532 Contributing Parish Families

Families Served at St Dennis

131

1532

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

School Families All Parish Families

School Support at St Dennis by Source

$486,000

$54,200 $27,000

$278,500

$31,700

$50,600

$-

$100,000

$200,000

$300,000

$400,000

$500,000

$600,000

2004-2005 Parish Support Paidfor School Families (Excluding

Non-School Services)

2004 School Family Contributionsto St Dennis

Endowment, Grants & Other

FundraisingFees

TuitionSupport/Contributions

Net Fundraising

$2,700

$28,500

$44,400

$50,600

$54,600

$71,000

$110,000

$0 $20,000 $40,000 $60,000 $80,000 $100,000 $120,000

St James (143)


Maria Goretti (379)




Sacred Hearts (446)

Funds raised

Total School Costs & Tuition Base Calculation

2005-2006Diocesan Report Tuition Basis Tuition Basis Comments

Salaries 596,818$ FICA & benefits 69,371$

Payroll expenses 666,189$ 611,813$ 647,488$ excl health ins & ext child careInstructional materials 134,578$ -$ -$ funded separately

Maintenance 28,280$ 46,684$ 52,355$ incl playgrounds Utilities 34,027$ 36,281$ 40,714$ incl church, convent & rectories

Student services & other 10,781$ 21,830$ 22,298$ incl more admin servicesTotal School Expenses 873,855$ 716,608$ 762,855$

Enrollment 195 205 196 10 more students for tuition baseCost per Pupil 4,481$ 3,496$ 3,892$

Tuition Rate 46% 48%Tuition 1,608$ 1,868$

100% 116%

Actual Total School Expenses for 2003-2004 were $930,339

2004-2005

Funding of Instructional Materials2005-2006 Budget

Total Parents Parish

Home & School Expense 48,065$ 48,065$ fundraisingAthletic Committee 30,135$ 30,135$ fees

Textbook Fees 34,500$ 34,500$ feesField Trips 7,466$ 7,466$ fees

Tuition Grant Discount 6,000$ 6,000$ not coveredBad Debt Expense 12,473$ 12,473$ not covered

Total Instructional Materials 138,639$ 120,166$ 18,473$

Ideas• Cost related

– Short-term, consider combining grade-levels where enrollment warrants– Cost per pupil will decrease if we can increase class size– Long-term, investigate consolidating with IHM, adding preschool, and/or

dropping middle school grades• Revenues – Fundraising

– Encourage continuation of the excellent fundraising efforts– Recruit parishioner donations to the endowment fund, especially those

that take advantage of available corporate matching funds• Revenues – Parishioner & Non-Parishioner Tuition

– Raise tuition by $260 to $1868 for the 2005-2006 school year– Recruit more pupils, including higher-rate non-parishioners– Establish at least a $10 per week tithe for parishioner tuition rate– Offer parents the FACTS automatic payment program for tuition

• Revenues – Peace and Justice Considerations– Encourage Tuition Assistance Grants for those who need them– Keep Tuition Assistance Grants confidential, and fair with standards– Promote parish sponsorship of Tuition Assistance Grants– Review the multi-child tuition discount scales

‘Ask for what you need’ Matt 7:7-11

• St Dennis’ challenges– We MUST ask for substantially more support

both from school parents and general parishioners

• School parents’ challenges– Difficulty with ability to increase giving

• W W J D? We have always been fair & will be now• Bring your financial information (paycheck) and

talk privately with Father Schmitt• We expect more people to ask for and receive

some Tuition Assistance Grants – Difficulty with willingness to increase giving

• ‘the worker deserves his wages’ Luke 10:2-7

st dennis parish school tuition meeting february 23, 2005 finance commission membership –bill...

Documents

following slide

catholic school costs

st dennis school

sources of school

school funding

percent of school costs

parish support slide

tuition fees parents