Looking at specific types of Catholic elementary schools, patterns begin to emerge. Schools in New England cover the most of their per-pupil costs through tuition, while schools in the Plains do not charge tuition at even half the cost to educate a student. Urban and suburban schools cover their per pupil costs through tuition at higher rates than inner city and rural schools. The smallest schools—those with enrollment less than 100 students—charge only a third of the actual cost to educate a student.
So, how are these schools making up for the cost to educate students? One way is that some schools look to subsidies from their parish to subsidize the remaining costs. Almost all (97.8%) schools in the Plains region report receiving a parish subsidy. Similarly, nine in ten (90.6%) rural schools report receiving a parish subsidy. And, more than four in five of the smallest schools receive a parish subsidy. Schools with the highest ratio of tuition to student costs and the lowest number of parish subsidies tend to be located in the Northeast, urban, but not in the inner city, sponsored by the diocese or archdiocese, and have a high enrollment.
--By, Melissa A. Cidade, Director of CARA's Pastoral Assistance Surveys and Services (PASS)
Special thanks to Br. Robert Bimonte, FSC, Executive Director, Department of Elementary Schools at NCEA.