St. Dorothy Rectory

4910 Township Line

Drexel Hill, PA 19026

DECEMBER 7,2016

TUITION ANNOUNCEMENT FOR THE 2017- 2018 SCHOOL YEAR

The Finance Committee has recommended, and Father Murphy has approved,a 3% tuition increase for the next school year for the following reasons:

  • Tuition Rates increased by an average of 1.83% per year over the past three years for those who made quarterly payments on time. (For the time period beginning with the school year that ended on 6/30/14 through the end of this current school year, i.e., 6/30/17.)Some families paid less while others paid more, based on the tuition plan they chose.
  • The Parish provided $236,925 in school subsidy for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2015 and $389,000 for the fiscal year that ended on June 30, 2016. The projected school subsidy for the Year Ending on 06/30/217(this year) is $333,609.
  • Capital Improvements on the campus are ongoing. The current plan is to replace all of the school windows this year and make many other smaller improvements. The Parish remains committed to maintaining a high-quality, safe environment where the children can learn and grow.
  • St. Dorothy School continues to offer the lowest Catholic schoolparishioner tuition rates in the area.
  • The Finance Committee recommends on-going, small, consistent tuition increases rather than intermittent, large, and inconsistent increases.

Again, many thanks to the Development Committee and the Home & School Association (and their many volunteers) for helping to minimize Parish tuition increases over the past 10years and for helping to make St. Dots such a high value option. The Development Committee and the Home & School Associationalso enhance the school experience for our childrenby supporting the art, language, and kindergarten programs, by making investments in technology and other equipment, and by marketing the many benefits of ourSchool.In response to a recommended school improvement, we also added an advanced Math program (and classroom) this year.

As a separate issue and reminder, Parishioners pay a reduced tuition compared to non-Parishioners because of the underlying assumption that Parishioners make contributions to the Parish through their Sunday offering. For your general information and to continue transparency, the approved School Budget for this year (2016-2017) reflects Income of $1,255,436 and Expenses of $1,589,045 yielding an anticipated net loss of $333,609. This projected loss represents the budgeted amount to be subsidized (21% of total school expenses),primarily by Parish Sunday Offerings.

Please remember that Scrippurchasesand the “Dot’s Dandy Dollars” programs can help reduce your tuition obligation by purchasing gift cards from a variety of grocery and retail stores at face value with a rebate applied to your tuition.This is a great way to purchase the food and other items that you will purchase anyway. See the Home & School section of the school website or contact the school office for additional details. Food gift cards (Scrip) are also sold at the Rectory and those rebates can also be applied to tuition.

Additional 2017-2018 tuition information including the School Tuition Policy (which is currently posted on the school website) and the school registration notice/request will be mailed in January. Thank you for the many sacrifices that you make to provide your children a Catholic education.