Dr. Tim's Blog 
by Dr. Tim Uhl
2023-2024 School Year
Tuition Recommendations
With all the changes to parish governance and organization, the question that we hear quite frequently is, “What is our expectation of parish support for Catholic schools with each parish family?” The Finance Committee of the Diocesan Education Advisory Council set out to articulate the recommended procedures for parish and regional schools. The Tuition Recommendations can be found here.
Notice that there isn’t anything really different in the expectation that all sending parishes would provide support to active families approximately $1500 per student. The reality is that we want to support Catholic families and Catholic schools but the fiscal realities of our parishes have been challenged by falling attendance and contributions.
We recognize that challenge and thus our recommendations are only that. However, it’s also a challenge for us all to figure how to attract more families to Sunday Mass AND Catholic schools. We’re in this together! Without Catholic parishes, we lose the faith. And without Catholic schools, we lose the next generations of potential Catholics. Our hope is that you can take these recommendations and develop a way to make participation in Catholic parishes and schools more appealing.
Notice also that there are recommendations for the future. We believe it’s time to move away from parish discounts and towards a true cost of education. This also involves developing a Cost-Based Tuition (based on the actual Cost of Education) and Needs-Based Aid System. At the fall Board workshop, FACTS presented ideas on how this new system could work. We’ll continue to work toward this better system.
