Priests briefed on school plan, process

    As part of a strategic planning process for the 85 Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of New Orleans, about 80 priests met Feb. 2 with Catholic University education professor Dr. John Convey to discuss various proposals designed to address a vexing challenge: how to bridge the financial gap between tuition and the true cost of Catholic education.

    The clergy consultation was the latest gathering in a series of meetings that will take place over the next three months as Convey and his Catholic University collaborator, Dr. Leonard DeFiore, seek input from various groups to flesh out proposals to strengthen the finances, academics, marketing, governance, grade-level structure and Catholic identity of the schools.
    Those final recommendations, including possible recommendations for the closing and consolidation of some schools, will be finalized in May and sent to Archbishop Gregory Aymond in June.
    Convey gave the priests an overview of the financial challenges facing the schools over the next several years and asked for their feedback on how best to address those challenges. He said their feedback was important in formulating any final proposals.
    “It would not make much sense to propose something that does not have a reasonable amount of support,” Convey told the priests.
 

Enrollment has dipped
    While the New Orleans Archdiocese is the 10th-largest Catholic school system in the U.S., it has experienced declining enrollment over the last six years, slipping from about 41,000 students in 2006 to fewer than 38,000 in 2011. From 2009 to 2011, enrollment in the 54 elementary schools has declined by 1,279 students.
    Another cautionary statistic is the difference in the average number of students per grade. While the average is higher for grades 6-12, it is lower across the board for grades pre-K4 through 5. Since Catholic elementary schools feed the Catholic high schools, the lower number of students currently attending grades pre-K4 through 5 could eventually impact Catholic high school enrollment.
 

Tuition vs. true cost
    In 2010, Convey said there was about a $1,000 gap between the average cost per elementary student ($4,953) and the average tuition charged for the first child ($3,974). Also, the average cost per student escalates in schools with low enrollment because of fixed costs and lower tuition income.
    Generally, the difference is made up through parish and archdiocesan subsidies and other school income, Convey said.
    Convey also discussed another challenging issue that makes New Orleans a curiosity among other Catholic school systems he has studied – the vast majority of high schools that offer eighth (and even seventh) grade, which drains students from elementary schools.
    While some priests said seventh- and eighth-graders have a better opportunity to develop leadership and social skills in an elementary school environment, some said the battle to restructure the high schools into grades 9-12 would be counterproductive and sidetrack the plan.
 

Not ‘business as usual’
    Archbishop Aymond thanked the priests for their “commitment and energy” in giving their feedback.
    “Through the strategic plan we are asking some of the natural questions, but we’re also asking questions that are outside of the box, and we have to do that,” he said. “We’re at a very, very critical time in Catholic education in the United States and a very, very critical time in Catholic education in our diocese.
    “As we all know from the questions coming from the plan and the questions that we talk about informally, it simply can’t be business as usual. Hopefully, with the inspiration of the spirit, with this plan and with our commitment, we can strengthen Catholic education in our archdiocese.”
    Future strategic planning meetings will be held March 21 for the Catholic Schools Office, Office of Religious Education and Administrative Council; March 22 for the major superiors of religious congregations and March 23 with the Council of Catholic School Cooperative Clubs.
    There will be four town hall meetings open to the public March 28-29 and April 25-26.
    Peter Finney Jr. can be reached at [email protected].