If you have ever spoken with someone who lives in the suburbs, whose children attend private school, whether it be Catholic School or any other type, without a doubt the subject of tuition came up.
The issue
I have worked in Catholic Schools for 25 years, and in that time, without a doubt, school funding has always been one of the most difficult issues, especially where we live. In many of the suburbs it has become commonplace to spend anywhere from $8,000 to in some cases close to $30,000 per student per year. These numbers sound crazy, and most of us can't afford anything close to that. So how do we fund our private school that we feel so strongly about, when our median income is very different from those suburban communities?
The history
This is one of the greatest challenges I have felt as a school administrator over the past ten years. Although I knew that school funding was difficult, it wasn't until I became the principal, did I realize what an uphill battle it was, but one that was totally worth it. About 25 years ago, St. Michael School was gifted an extremely large amount of money from a very generous alumnus. This money would keep St. Michael School open for years. In fact, there have been several times in the past 25 years that things looked so bleak, that not even many of our own parishioners saw a future for the little school on the hill. Just to give some context, in 2016, SMS ran at a $360,000+ deficit. Imagine losing that much money every year. It was totally unsustainable, and at the time it looked like SMS would be closed within 5-7 years barring an act of God.
There have been so many acts of God in the past ten years, that it has truly been miraculous. First, we had a great group of families who went "all-in" whether it be though fundraisers, volunteerism and working together, and spreading the good things happening at SMS with other families who share similar values. Word of mouth helped us grow. People who met our graduates knew that they wanted a SMS education for their own children. Our enrollment began to grow quickly. We gradually went from 58 students in 2016 to over 160 this year, adding two new buildings in the process.
As far as changes in funding go, in 2017 we changed our fundraising strategy from many small fundraisers, to fewer "bigger bang for the buck" fundraisers, adding the Golf Outing and $10,000 Drawing to the already successful fish fry. In that first year alone, we went from about $25,000 a year in fundraising to over $75,000. This year we added the Gala and raised a total of $145,000. Parent and community involvement has always been the biggest key.
In most schools, tuition is set by taking the expenses of the school and dividing it by the number of students there are. This is a little over-simplified, but generally a good way to look at it. We have not done this for years, because we know where we live, and understand that people just don't have it. Our goal is not to be a school for only the wealthy. We have sought out grants, any public funding available, and cut corners wherever we could, and always will, but there has always been a deficit that had to be made up at the end of the year.
The solution
I am giving you this background because many of you were not here for it, and don't know, but also because we have a chance to get our school funding on a sustainable path, but we need help from all of our supporters.
Currently, the true cost to educate each student is about $8,500. Many of you are aware of and eligible for the EdChoice Scholarship. In fact over 80% of our families receive the entire EdChoice Scholarship of $6,166. Some of our families who receive a smaller percentage of these funds, and some who are not Ohio residents, don't receive any of it. Even if you get the entire scholarship, we still have to find close to $2,300 to cover the rest of your child's real tuition. This year we raised $145,000 in fundraising, which comes out to about $800 per child. Add that to the total for each student, and we still have a $1500 deficit per student. I think we have a very doable way to handle this deficit, but we will need your help. It won't cost you any money, and won't take too much time, we just need everyone to help.
Some of you might remember us talking about the Catholic Education Foundation Scholarship Granting Organization. It is the program in which you can divert up to $750 of your state tax liability to SMS, instead of the state of Ohio. Last year we had 84 people donate over $65,000 to our SGO that was immediately used to help pay tuition for people who needed help. Most of those 84 people were grandparents, alumni, parishioners and even the superintendent of schools at the Archdiocese of Cincinnati who really believes in what is going on at SMS, so much so that of all the schools in Cincinnati, he chose ours. The point is, anyone who pays Ohio state taxes can contribute.
If you do the math, two people who donate the max donation, would cover the entire tuition of a child who also receives the entire EdChoice Scholarship. Again, anyone who is an Ohio taxpayer can give to this fund. Parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, neighbors, alumni, friends, etc. This is an opportunity that we cannot pass up. It literally costs you nothing.
When I donated this year, I waited until the week before I planned to file my taxes. I made the donation with a credit card, gave the receipt to my tax preparer, and got my tax return before I got my next credit card statement. I was never out the money.
We have worked very hard over the years to keep the burden of tuition off of our parents as much as possible. In fact, I would challenge anyone to find a private school that helps families in this way more than we do. I firmly believe that if we fully take advantage of this opportunity, it will open even more opportunities for our students in the future.
These donations can be made all the way up to when you file your taxes next year, so there is no need to do it right now. I made my 2025 donation in February of this year. We will begin reminding people in December, but it would be a good idea to think of any Ohio residents you know who might be willing to do this. It benefits everyone, there is no downside, and honestly, there is no reason that all of our supporters wouldn’t do it, unless they do not pay state taxes for some reason.
I remember the very first time I spoke to our families in 2016 as the principal. I ended that speech with, this is our school, and our chance to create a strong, Christ-centered environment for them to grow up. We have been extremely blessed over the past ten years, and as a dad I am grateful to everyone who came together to make it happen. We have an opportunity once again to take another step forward, and I invite you all to do your part and help SMS continue to grow. Thank you all for all you do for our students, and for St Michael School. I am blessed to be part of such a great group of families, and with such an important mission. God Bless!