mbt
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Posts: 1 
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Post by mbt on Jan 17, 2009 16:49:58 GMT -5
The topic of closing schools again! (two years ago they closed over 25), was mentioned last year. I remember reading about it in the Tablet.....at the time they did not mentioned which schools, but by the enrollment statistics alone, you can get an idea. I am sad for my dear friends who have their children at BSS. It's so hard to get your child into a good school, and then this happens. I hope this gets resolved rather quickly.
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Post by sdillon on Jan 17, 2009 18:35:12 GMT -5
Hi, everyone:
This post is from Tom Murphy. Tom and his sister Nancy went to BSS in the 60's. My friend Jackie O'Meara alerted Tom about BSS and this is his response. Tom, like Maureen, lives in Great Britain. But I bet he would fly back for a choir show, too.
Tom writes:
I get the impression the closing date is in about 6 weeks (see reply #9 Para 1). Is that right? If so all this is a little late. A business plan must address both short and long term issues. Things like sale/leaseback etc. are all good short term ideas (although probably not doable in 6 weeks) only pay off for so long and how would you prevent the diocese from pocketing the money anyway. If the time frame is correct, they do not want a rescue package. To generate a business plan for a turnaround, you need to address the problems. Are the demographics materially different between St. Joan's/St. Bart's and Blessed Sacrament? How did they get into this hole Immediate impression is of grandiose and expensive plans implemented without revenue base being assured. For example, a gym was mentioned. Without a viable plan to increase revenue and cut costs to get to self sufficiency within 5 years, you are unlikely to get a bite on the interim funding ideas. Relatively little I can do from this distance but if I can be of help, let me know. You are welcome to pass on anything I say that you feel may be of help.GOOD LUCK
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Post by sdillon on Jan 17, 2009 18:37:52 GMT -5
To All:
There are great ideas on this forum. I know Dennis has a lot of work ahead of him to synthesize all of the suggestions. Good luck and thanks.
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Post by madge1985 on Jan 17, 2009 22:55:42 GMT -5
It occurs to me that two schools in the immediate area are K-12 schools; namely; Rennaisance and Garden School. BSS certainly has the room for this. In this way, BSS students would most likely stay through high school, and, in addition, we could draw graduates from the surrounding schools by providing a Catholic high school in their own area. This is untapped territory. The nearest Catholic high school is Msgr. McClancy which is only for boys. This would take a lot of initial revenue and I'm sure some kind of "accreditation" process ( I don't know all the particulars) but would most likely "pay off" in the long term.
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Post by Dennis on Jan 18, 2009 0:19:03 GMT -5
We have received a great deal of enthusiastic support and creative ideas. Although it is obvious the problem is BSS's finances our next steps will be to clearly identify the problem: i.e what is the revenue total we need to achieve (school budget)
so that we can better focus our solutions.
I will draw up a more formal document but here is something to think about:
Problem:
The school is failing because of lack of students & revenue.
Environment:
Parish demographic is still heavily Catholic but many with income levels too low to afford current tuition.
Assumption
Parishioners would send children if able to afford tuition.
Goal:
How to make the tuition affordable to enough students so to reach the critical mass necessary to sustain financial health while delivering quality education.
Questions:
- What is the cost of maintaining the school?
- How does that cost change as student volume fluctuates (Preferably upward)?
( cost per student should drop as volume increases)
- What is the price point that will attract enough students so that the critical mass is met?
(what can enough, not all, parishioners afford) (X number of students at X price = school costs)
- Other sources of revenue to subsidize, hence lower, tuition?
i.e. leasing part of school, fundraisers, donations, etc.
- Lower cost base: leasing part of school relinquishing that portion's costs, renegotiating utility contracts, increase volunteers, etc.
I am sure I may be repetitive but I just want to try to get a tighter focus on the problem, our solutions and then develop action steps that will produce both quick and sustainable solutions.
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Post by Dennis on Jan 18, 2009 0:23:23 GMT -5
Our current problems began when enrollment began to take a drastic downward turn. Prior to 2000 we had increased our enrollment over the years from 421 students in 1991 to 486 in 2000. Following 9/11 enrollment decreased as follows: 432 students in 02/03; 336 in 03/04; 295 in 04/05; 251 in 05/06; 231 in 06/07; 234 in 07/08; 198 at present. Up until the time our enrollment was above 250 students we showed no deficit. In fact, over the period of 14 years I was able to put aside $188,000 in savings. Unfortunately, these monies have had to be entirely withdrawn over the past two years to meet our financial obligations. The projected deficit for this year is $168,000.
As you are aware per pupil cost is driven by enrollment figures which determine tuition income and potential fund raising income. In year 2005/06 when we had 251 students our per pupil cost was $3967; in 2007/08 with 234 students the per pupil cost was $4550 and in the current year it is projected to be $5098. This compares to a Diocesan average of about $4000.
The reason we have such a low enrollment is the inability of our immigrant parents to pay for a Catholic School education. God only knows, we have the numbers of children in the area to draw from. For the past 14 years we have baptized an average of 406 children annually.
In addition, we know we offer a GREAT PRODUCT--Quality Catholic Education and an academic record that is superior not only to the Public School system throughout the City and State but also outclasses the results of our Catholic Schools in the Diocese. For example:In the 2007 State Testing: Grade 8 Math -- City 45.6%, State 58.8%, Diocese 60.2%, BLESSED SACRAMENT 84%; Grade 4 Math --- City 74.1%, State 80.0%, Diocese 80.2%, BLESSED SACRAMENT 89%; Grade 8 ELA --- City 41.8%, State 57.1% Diocese 63.9%, BLESSED SACRAMENT 68%. For the past 2 years 100% of our 5th Graders passed the State Social Studies Exam. So, we must be doing something right!!!
Now in answer to some of your questions--
If the school were to close we would have to attempt to lease it. We could never sell it since we need space to educate the approximate 1000 youngsters in our Religious Ed (CCD) program.
In the majority of other cases where schools have closed there have been leases to the Board of Ed, Catholic Charities Day Care programs, schools serving children with learning, mental and/or physical disabilities. In some few cases where parishes have had a surplus of buildings permitting them to consolidate their programs into smaller space, there have been sales to developers for the construction of housing.
Should BSS become vacant we would have to still pay for property and liability insurance, maintain our heating system, etc. This would bring an additional cost to the parish of more than $75,000 per year.
The local pastors and principals do, in fact, meet on a regular basis. St. Joan's is successful because they have a different base community from which to draw students; Our Lady of Fatima has NO Public Schools within its parish boundaries and thus has a large non-Catholic student population (98 students); at St. Bart's 27% of its students are non-Catholic. Here at Blessed Sacrament only 4% are non-Catholic.
Our best avenue is to pursue philanthropy and Grants as well as an appeal to alumni to establish a Student Aid Fund with various events such as an Annual Pledge campaign, Golf outing, Annual thingytail/Dinner party, etc.
For your information, we have planned for a Carnival for the last weekend of May.
Thankfully, our Convent houses 12 Sisters from two different Religious Communities. One of these communities directs our Religious Ed, Youth and Evangelization programs and the Convent serves as their Novitiate. At present 3 young women are in their final year of vovitiate and will be taking their Religious Vows in June.
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Post by Dennis on Jan 18, 2009 0:37:35 GMT -5
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Post by denisedorgan on Jan 18, 2009 10:29:13 GMT -5
My daughter currently attends a 'regional' catholic grade school in New Jersey. About 20 years ago they were also faced with closure. The parents created a plan of 'Fair Ability to Pay' tuition. What that means is, parents are told what the cost of educating their child / children actually is, and they commit to whatever portion they can reasonably afford. This has allowed larger families to obtain a catholic education for their children. The deficit is made up by a parish contribution and by fundraising. We do a LOT of fundraising. It does sound like time is of the essence here, and you need help quickly. I would be happy to volunteer to organize an alumni fundraisier, or work with a team that has one underway. Feel free to email me at denise1764@ hotmail.com Anything I can do, I'm happy to help.
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Post by debbiedagiau on Jan 18, 2009 15:28:28 GMT -5
Did anyone read the posts after the article? Especially one of the editor's choices. A woman from Brooklyn. It only refers to her as MW. She said she would love to help needy Catholic schools. She went to St. Saviors in Brooklyn and then off to Yale. How can we find out who she is???
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Post by Jada Fletcher on Jan 18, 2009 16:35:23 GMT -5
I think the students of blessed sacrament should come together to do a buffet in the auditorium. Each student can make a special dish and bring it to blessed sacrament to have a buffet. Parents can help their children cook these meals. The buffet can be for snacks,desserts,and special family dishes. People would only have to pay 5.00 for entry and then they could enjoy any meal they would like. People from all over are welcomed. We would have to advertise.
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Post by debbiedagiau on Jan 18, 2009 17:51:00 GMT -5
I also think that it would have made a strong impact if our students/teachers/parents and anyone else would have been able to speak at all the Masses this weekend. everyone has read the papers, seen the news, yet nothing said in Mass. not a good thing.
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Post by Dennis on Jan 19, 2009 0:14:05 GMT -5
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Post by sdillon on Jan 19, 2009 12:46:19 GMT -5
The FCT represents the NY Archdiocese, and they have had their share of suffering over school closures. I believe the president will be very helpful to us.
Although I can't find a web page, here is contact information for our teachers in the Brooklyn Diocese:
Catholic Teachers Association of the Diocese of Brooklyn
191 Joralemon Street.
(718) 852-6565
Gabriel may have more information on how pro-active the Brooklyn group is in reference to our needs.
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Post by debbiedagiau on Jan 19, 2009 14:31:44 GMT -5
Question: with regard to the list of slated closures: Bishop DiMarzio refers to a group of Parents, teachers, and pastors who came up with this list? Who are these people?
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Post by jboomer on Jan 19, 2009 20:21:13 GMT -5
This week's edition of the Tablet (Jan 17, 2009) has a number of stories about school closings and even one about an old church that will soon be closing. There's also an article about the decline in the number of nuns. While these stories seem to show a general decline in the diocese, the editorials try to put a positive spin on the situation stating that consolidation will strenghten the church in the long run. The editor even mentioned that his own grammer school, high school, college, and local church have all closed.
The usual reasons for the closings are stated including declines in enrollments and shortages of funds.
I've read all of the postings and suggestions and mostly agree with them all. The best workable solution will have to come from the people in the parish, especially the parents, since they will have to live with the result.
Someone asked about campaigns to raise money for Catholic education. They have them every year - Annual Appeal, Catholic Appeal and Alive in Hope. The Alive in Hope (aliveinhopefoundation.org) even has an endowment to fund scholarships to BSS. It's called the Sr. Mary Patrick McCarthy Scholarship Fund. I do not know the value of this endowment or what will happen to it if BSS closes. By comparison, St. Sebastian's has 8 endowments. Perhaps continued funding of this endowment could save BSS, but it would likely need a lot of money real soon.
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