Parochial and private schools hurt by economic downturn

Parochial and private schools in the Charleston area are starting to feel the impact of the economic downturn, according to interviews with school officials. Enrollment appears to be slipping, and applications for financial aid are on the rise, they said.

Hardest hit are schools that traditionally serve middle-class families that, increasingly, must prioritize their spending even if it means compromising on some values associated with a good education.

Bishop England High School, a Catholic school on Daniel Island, has seen families opt to leave for public schools, according to Sister Julia Hutchison, superintendent of the schools for the Diocese of Charleston, which encompasses all of South Carolina.

Bishop England is trying to counter tuition and student population declines in part with layoffs, Hutchison said. Six members of the faculty have been let go this year.

"People are having to make choices," she said.

Though final enrollment numbers will not be known until August, the signs of financial strain already are clear, Hutchison said.

"More people than ever have asked for financial aid," she said.

Parochial schools

Nationwide, the recession has exacerbated trends in Catholic schools, which have seen enrollment declines and higher costs. Since 2000, more than 1,400 Catholic schools have closed, and the number of students declined by 460,507, according to the National Catholic Education Association. This represents a drop of more than 17 percent in both categories. Elementary schools have borne the brunt of the change.

Even in South Carolina, which has seen enrollment increases year after year, the student population declined by 1 percent during the 2008-09 academic year, Hutchison said.

Nevertheless, the diocese recently opened one new elementary school, St. Gregory the Great in Bluffton, and plans to open another, Holy Trinity Catholic Education Center in North Myrtle Beach, this fall.

In recent years, the Diocese of Charleston has experienced modest growth as Catholic populations shift from the Northeast and Rust Belt to the South and West. Partly for this reason, officials are "not in a panic" about the state of the economy and its impact on parochial schools, Hutchison said. But they are worried.

"Everybody is concerned," she said. "Where is this going to go?"

Brother Robert Bimonte, executive director of the elementary department of the National Catholic Educational Association, said any tuition-based school will face chal-lenges when the economy sours, especially those that cater to middle-class families, because disposable income is diminished. And as schools struggle with declining enrollment and higher costs, raising tuition can exacerbate the issues, Bimonte said.

"It's a dilemma," he said. "You don't want to raise tuition at a time like this."

Michael Pennell, principal of Prince of Peace Catholic School in Taylors near Greenville, acknowledged that some families have left his school for financial reasons.

"Families are deciding to use their limited income for core things," he said.

But sometimes those "core things" include a Catholic education. Pennell said that other families are making huge sacrifices to ensure their children continue to attend Prince of Peace. Mothers are going back to work. Grandparents are helping to pay tuition. Parents are dipping into retirement accounts. One family is trying to sell its house and buy a smaller, cheaper one so the children can stay in school.

But in this economic climate, even such loyalty has its price. Pennell said he has seen a drop in volunteerism, financial donations and school fundraising. Families are too busy trying to raise funds for themselves.

Bimonte said the extra effort families are making is a reflection of the unique product Catholic schools offer: a religious education. Nationally, 85 percent of Catholic school students are Catholics. In the Southeast, 86.5 percent are Catholics.

Average yearly tuition at elementary-level Catholic schools nationwide for 2008-09 is $3,159, according to Bimonte. Average secondary school tuition is $8,182. However, tuition covers only a portion of the real per-student costs: 54 percent for elementary school students (real cost $5,870) and 80 percent for secondary school students (real cost $10,228), Bimonte said. The difference is made up by a variable parish subsidy and school-managed fundraising.

While elementary school tuition has remained level during the past nine years (average tuition in 2000 was about $3,200), secondary school tuition has increased by about $2,000 in that time, according to NCEA data.

Average tuition in the Diocese of Charleston is $4,941 for elementary schools and $7,721 for secondary schools, Hutchison said. If a family includes more than one school-age child, these costs can be impossible to bear, she said.

Private schools

Catholic schools are not the only tuition-based schools to feel the impact of the economic downturn.

Lori Gleaton, director of marketing and admissions at Addlestone Hebrew Academy in West Ashley said the school recently has lost about a dozen families who have opted for public school. The recession has prompted Addlestone to increase the amount of financial aid it makes available, she said.

Though she expects enrollment of about 190 students to remain level, due in part to the arrival of newly relocated families, Gleaton has noticed a slide in "renewals," families re-enrolling their children for another year, which, like many others, she attributed to a "middle-class squeeze."

Tuition at Addlestone is $9,216 for grades K-5 and $10,419 for grades 6-8.

Other private institutions are feeling the pinch, too. Though Porter-Gaud School and Ashley Hall are not reporting enrollment declines, both schools are offering more financial aid, the result of increased demand for assistance.

John Slepetz, communications director at Ashley Hall, said recent success at enlarging the school's endowment has enabled officials to process more financial aid requests and broaden needs-based grants. (By the end of 2007, it had more than $6 million invested in funds and securities, according to its tax Form 990.)

Boosting the endowment and making more financial assistance available were goals set in 2004, when Jill Muti became head of the school, he said.

Enrollment so far has remained steady, in large part because of "a pretty dedicated bunch" of families, Slepetz said.

Tuition at Ashley Hall is $15,000 for kindergarten; $16,000 for grades 1-4; $17,000 for grades 5 and 6; and $18,000 for grades 7-12.

Porter-Gaud, a private school affiliated with the Episcopal Church, has reacted to the economic downturn by moving up its enrollment date, increasing financial aid by 45 percent and limiting tuition increases, according to Headmaster Christian Proctor.

Proctor said tuition, which is $15,000 for the lower school and $17,000 for the middle and upper schools, has been raised only 2.5 percent. One-third of families receive some kind of financial aid, all of which is need-based, he said.

The school also has implemented an aggressive admissions and recruitment policy, reaching out early and often to new and current families, and avoided cutting faculty, Proctor said.

As a result, re-enrollment numbers look good so far, he said.

"It's kind of like everyone's stepped up to the plate," he said.

In fact, Porter-Gaud, which has 923 enrolled students this year, has seen an increase in new applications despite the economy: "Manna from heaven," Proctor called it, surmising that some schools have an inherent advantage, no matter the economic climate.

"Well-run public schools and well-run private schools have one thing in common," he said. "Parents want what's best for their kids. Well-run schools will do well regardless of the economy."

Trickle-down effect?

The recession's impact is felt throughout the education system, but its main effect in South Carolina so far seems to be a spike in uncertainty.

Larry Watt, executive director of the nonprofit South Carolina Independent School Association, wrote in an e-mail that school budgets for the 2009-10 academic year, which mostly are formulated in January, take into account a small drop in enrollment.

"Those not re-enrolling are taking a wait-and-see approach before committing," he wrote.

Fred McKay, principal of Charleston Catholic School, said enrollment basically is steady so far, and financial aid likely will increase by 2 percent.

"Some of our school families have been hurt by the economy," he wrote in an e-mail. "Several have lost their jobs, and others have faced cutbacks (full time to part time, unpaid furloughs, etc.). The school and the peninsular Catholic parishes will do everything we can to keep our current families in the school, especially since some have been with the school for many years. We are reaching out to our supportive donors, who are willing to help families in need."

Meanwhile, the Charleston County School District is reporting its first enrollment increase after five consecutive years of enrollment declines, according to Elliot Smalley, executive director of communications for Charleston public schools. It is still unclear whether the recession is a factor.

"We need to do whatever we can to attract these families and prove that we're a great choice," Smalley said.

Though there is always some flux between public and private school attendance, and though hard enrollment numbers won't be available until August, school officials say this year could be different.

Lucy Beckham, principal of Wando High School in Mount Pleasant, said her public school has been growing significantly since 1998. As of now, roughly 100 families with children in private schools have preregistered for Wando's 2009-10 school year, and that number is likely to increase, Beckham said.

"We are absolutely certain we've got kids coming from private and parochial schools this year," she said.

Reach Adam Parker at 937-5902 or aparker@postandcourier.com. Diette Courrégé contributed to this report.