Catholic School Finance Crisis Touches County

I With a sweep and speed that I rivals the Hong Kong flu, financial crises are crippling the 1 U. S. Catholic school system. Far from immune is Washtenaw County, where a shortage of funds has forced the recent decisión to close St. John's High School in Ypsilanti and drop grade eight from St. Mary's School in Chelsea. Will Ann Ar. bor's Catholic schools follow suit? "Not in the near future," reply administrators at St. Francis and St. Thomas schools. Still, there is no pretense of being "affluent." Both schools are symptomatically far under capacity enrollment, and are anticipating further tuition hikes next year. "I don't know of a school, public or private, that isn't experiencing financial problems," the Rev. Frank P. Srebernak, pastor of St. Francis parish says. "Our school has always operated in the black in the sense that there is always a sufficient subsidy from the ish." There are 350 students registered at St. Francis school, but there is room for more than 500. Enrollment was approaching this in 1964, Sister Mauritia recalls, when she became princi. pal. Tuition was then $50 per family; now it is doublé. "There is no doubt that some parishoners have taken their children out of school due to the high tuition," Srebernak says, "although we have made known privately that if parents feel they cannot pay the sum, the parish wil!. No one is turned away." Archdiocesan guidelines siigguest that the parish pay twothirds of the schools operating expenses and the parents pay one-third. Actually, at St. Fran. cis the ratio is closer to 70:30. Tuition must be raised to maintain even this apportionment. 'It's not that income Has de:reased, but that costs have mounted." The big cost factor is lay ;echers salaries. Ten years ago, 5t. Thomas elementary and high school employed 20 nuns who received a combined income of $13,303, and five 1 a y teachers whose salaries totaled $18,300. Nuns, once 80 per cent of the teaching staff, now comprise one-third. The 17 nuns at St. Thomas earn a combined $24,428 this year, while the 28 lay teachers earn a combined $126,774. Struggling to compete with the public schools' offers, St. Thomas raised its base salary to $4,800 in 1966, $5,500 in 1967 and $6,300 last fall. (By contrast, a nun receives about $1,750.) Next year, according to St. Thomas Elementary School Principal Sister Marie Patrice, the schools will be cut back 20 per cent more in religious personnel. "Partly it's due to retirement and the smaller number of girls entering the convent. Another factor is the number of nuns leaving the religious life. In our province, about three sisters will also take leaves to earn gradúate degrees," she explained. On a state-wide scale, 1 a y teachers make up about 48 per cent of the parochial school fac. ulties. St. Francis, with seven nuns (including the principal) and seven full-time lay teachers, reflects this statistic. The nuñs' salaries hold school operating costs to $200 per capita. At St. Thomas, with a smaller age of religious personnel, the cost is figured at $225-$250 per capita for the elementary school and $414 per capita for the high school. These figures are lower than the bottom figure listed among each of Washtenaw County's 10 public school districts. In Milan, the cost of educating a child is $430. The average within the 10 districts reaches $563. Ann Arbor lists by far the highest per capita cost figure : $773. The Michigan Association of Non-Public Schools (MANS) is quick to point out that, were the private schools forced to close, public school education coasts would really soar. "To absorb the state's nearly 315,000 non-public school students would cost Michigan schools $1 billion immediately," MANS states,- $800 million for new school facilities and $220 million for operating costs." But in Washtenaw County, and elsewhere, the public schools already seem to be absorbing many of the parochial school students. While public school enrollment here climbed from 38,049 in 1964 to the present 45,420, parochial school enrollment held to between 4,350 and 4,500 and then thudded to 3,683 this y e a r. State-wide MANS predicts that the parochial schools will lose 25,000 more pupils next year. "We took a. survey recently in which parishioners were asked how they would react to a tuition boost. The majority did not oppose an increase." Leo Wagner, acting principal at St. Thomas High School, said. "I question the validity of the conclusions, since the questionaire was distributed to college students and others who wouldn't be affected by it. Still, it leads me to believe that the parish will rally to take whatever steps are necessary to keep the school functioning." "If our budget was reduced to the point of having to lower the quality of education here, we would close immediately." The Rev. John Phalen, special assistant to Archbishop John F. Dearden in Detroit, was asked if there would be further announcements of area Catholic schools closing this spring. "There are no indications of any," he replied, pointing out that such decisions are initiated within the individual parishes and then finalized by Dearden. Legislators and others who oppose parochiaid - state funds to non-public schools - often argue that "the Catholic Church is one of the richest institutions in the world. Why doesn't it support its failing Amercan schools?" Phalen dismissed this as "out of all range of possiblity. The Vatican's money is tied up in land and buildings, and the parochial schools here are extremely independant. The Catholic missions don't receive adequate funds as it is," he said. "There are much bigger needs than our school systems to be honest with you." Some Catholics who oppose Parochiaid fear "the state would end. up running the school." The Rev. Srebernak sees no "danger" of that. "We already follow state guidelines in many áreas," he points out. At St. Francis School, parochiaid could mean a broader curriculum with perhaps the inclusión of foreign language and home economics courses, and hold down tuition fees, he speculated. At St. Thomas School, Wagner said it could raise salaries to a more competitive level. If the two schools continue their rising costs - falling enrollment, such alternatives as the fazing out of grades or a merger "have been discussed." "The problem is not unique to the parochial schools," Wagner said, echoing Srebernak's early statement. "Public schools in other states have been forced to end their sessions months early due to lack of operating funds. They are seeing they must find a new source of income besides property taxes. The Catholic schools need a new_sflürjL_of incomp too." I