Some private schools prevail over economy

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www.suburbanchicagonews.com/beaconnews/news/1523050,2_1_AU12_PRIVATESCHOOLS_S2.article

Some private schools prevail over economy

April 12, 2009

By ROWENA VERGARA AND ERIKA WURST Staff Writers
While enrollment is steady at many private schools in the Fox Valley, others are starting to feel the heat of the faltering economy.

"The economy does seem to be having an effect on private schools," said Jim Apker, head of Parkview Christian Academy in Yorkville.

"Parents see the importance of instilling in their kids not only a strong academic training but the traditional values that our culture seems to be quickly moving away from.

"This creates a dilemma for families who want the best for their kids but are suddenly faced with financial hardships that prevent them from doing that."

This seems to be the case at Marmion Academy in Aurora, where a decline in next year's enrollment will likely impact the tuition-driven school. For the first time since 2000, the school will see enrollment drop.

"As a community we have tried very hard to keep those kids enrolled," said Marmion Director of Admissions Bill Dixon. "Those kids who because of financial situations have a difficult time paying tuition can benefit from gifts from alumni and beneficiaries.

"When I talked to freshman parents last week, I made that point to them. If something occurs that changed (your) financial position to pay, let me know. There are a lot of friends of Marmion who feel strongly enough to help out. Our alumni are incredible when it comes to supporting current students."

Conversely, at Rosary High School in Aurora, freshman numbers are going up, said Director of Admissions Karen Ramella.

"As far as across the board, I think we'll probably lose a couple families due to the economy, but we're not seeing a big drop at all."

Family sacrifices
Ramella said that many families prioritize when faced with a bad economic situation, and will put the education of their children ahead of summer family vacations and other expenses just to keep them enrolled.
Apker is seeing the same trend in Yorkville.

"Over the years I have seen incredible sacrifice on the part of families to be able to send their kids to a Christian school. That will undoubtedly continue, only with an even greater level of sacrifice for some," he said.

Affect on public schools
While many parents are opting to keep their children enrolled in private schools, the ones who can't must find other avenues of education.
"At Marmion we don't lose a lot of kids to other private schools," Dixon said. "When losing students for financial reasons, they go to public schools."

How this will impact public school numbers has yet to be seen, but administrators don't appear worried.

"We see absolutely minimal impact from private schools," Kaneland Superintendent Charles McCormick said. "There could be some highly individualized cases, but I don't see it as a big trend."

On Aurora's West Side, school spokesman Mike Chapin said although registration is still far off, "we've talked about the possibility that our enrollment might go up.

"We're not sure what the net would be," he noted. "We don't really have any indication yet."

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A school bell's final tolls

April 12, 2009

By ROWENA VERGARA and ERIKA WURST [e-mail] [e-mail]
AURORA -- For as long as she can remember, Andrea Jacquez has seen children in crisp white dress shirts and blue slacks scurry back and forth every weekday outside Archbishop Romero Catholic School.

She has heard the bell ring out at 8 a.m. each morning from the tiny school right across from her house.

Jacquez, who also graduated from the school, considers Archbishop Romero a fixture in her East Side neighborhood. It's where her son Jose got straight A's, and where her 5-year-old daughter, Myhia, now makes her best friends.

But not everyone sees the Catholic pre-school through eighth grade school the same way.

Jacquez said it became obvious during the school's open house last year that residents around Archbishop Romero, nearby Liberty and High streets, did not know much about the institution that has shaped the neighborhood.

"People were saying they didn't know a school was here. They thought it was an empty building," she said.

A year after that observation, Archbishop Romero School, supported by both St. Nicholas and Sacred Heart parishes, is expected to become an empty building by May. The Diocese of Rockford plans to shutter the school, citing declining enrollment and rising operational costs.

The school opened in 1990 with 235 students. Today, it serves 123 students, with about half receiving financial assistance. According to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockford, just 28 percent of students are current in their payments.

Since the April 3 announcement, parents, students and some staff have banded together to fight the decision, organizing meetings, starting fundraisers and requesting a meeting with the diocese.

Students plan to display "Save Our School" banners after Easter Sunday services at both parishes today.

"I wish we could have a chance. I feel comfortable here. I met a lot of people, and my best friend and I have grown up with this school," student Oscar Gomez said, adding he was hoping to graduate from Romero in two years.

Accumulating debt
Catholic school closings are generally rare occurrences. Archbishop Romero, at 312 High St., is the first school to close in the Rockford Diocese in at least 15 years, according to the diocese.
"This has been talked about in both parishes for a number of years, that there was debt accumulating," said Penny Wiegert, spokesman for the diocese.

But Jacquez and dozens of parents have expressed contrasting views. Many say they have been in the dark about the school's financial condition.

In March, Jacquez learned of a debt of about $60,000, but she had no idea it had been accumulating for years and now stands at $1.7 million, according to the Rockford Diocese estimate.

"We didn't know it was in this much danger, but if we did, we would've done something to help," Jacquez said.

The principal at Archbishop Romero could not be reached for a comment.

Parishes came together
Though it opened in 1990, Archbishop Romero really is an old school in an old neighborhood. The school was created when two schools that could no longer sustain themselves joined together -- the school supported by Sacred Heart Parish and the school of St. Nicholas Church.
Parents say Archbishop Romero is a school where everyone knows everyone, and parents watch out for other parents' children. Jacquez, now 31, recalls the teachers at Romero from when she was a student.

She knows nearly all the school's students and their parents by their first names. Jacquez's classmates now have children attending Archbishop Romero alongside her kids.

"It's the same families that come back year after year. People just keep coming back here because of the education," Jacquez said.

But the enrollment numbers still haven't been strong. According to the diocese, the school's main revenue sources -- tuition, parish subsidies and donations -- are all down.

The school's operating budget is more than $934,000, while tuition received is about $213,000.

The school is getting nearly $170,000 annually from Sacred Heart and St. Nicholas parishes.

The Rev. F. William Etheredge, who oversees Catholic education for the Aurora area, said the diocese also gives money back to all of its schools through stewardship. A stewardship amounts to about 3 percent of a parish's income. In the case of Archbishop Romero, that adds up to about $7,000 back to the school -- the cost of two students.

Changing economy, neighborhood
Funding a school between two parishes is also "a collaborative effort," said Wiegert, spokesman for the diocese.
"The better the collaboration, the better and stronger the school, but sometimes collaboration doesn't work because you have to have a collaborative financial effort and the people to provide that," she said.

The school was also given a $2 million endowment eight years ago. According to previous reports, about $200,000 could have been earned yearly for the school to help with costs.

The tanking stock market has shattered hopes for a return on those investments, Wiegert noted. But it isn't the only school in that predicament.

"There were no earnings for any school in this diocese," Wiegert said.

She added that Archbishop Romero's endowment amount is currently at $900,000.

Etheredge also suggested that donations have likely dwindled at the parishes because the school's neighborhood has changed, too.

What was once a booming area for young families is now occupied by an older demographic, he said.

"Fifty years ago, a lot of younger families were at Sacred Heart and on the East Side. Now it's an older area and it doesn't have the children like it used to," he said.

Tuition dilemma
While the diocese is encouraging Archbishop Romero parents to keep their children in Catholic institutions, Jacquez doesn't know if she can afford the tuition at other schools.
A main reason Jacquez kept her children in Archbishop Romero is because it offered substantial tuition assistance.

Parents have been told other schools in the area will help them adjust to their new payments.

But Jacquez may have to enroll her daughter in public school. She does not want to pull her son out of Aurora Central Catholic High School after one year there -- especially after he recently made the honor roll. She fears she'll have to pick one option over the other.

Jacquez's employer also cut her hours, and her husband recently was laid off. A lot of other parents are also unsure of what to do next, she said.

"There are a lot of single parents in the school, some of them with three to four kids. They're not in a stable condition to keep (all) their kids in private schools," she said.

That money must come from somewhere else.

"If every graduating class comes back and helps out to save these kids, it would help. There are a lot of teachers and people in real estate that are very successful people now," Jacquez said.

[brant]

It is really a shame what is happening to some of these private schools. I couldn't believe Driscoll in Addison is closing. I remember when I was growing up in Chicago, people saved every penny for Catholic school. There were no stereos or the stuff from Best Buy like xbox or whatever the lastest new thing is. People saved and sacrificed. And some parents were out of work too. People just valued education and did without the stuff kids take for granted now.