Can systems thinking save more Catholic schools?

A Catholic school closure is almost always something to grieve, because disciples were formed, memories were made, and relationships were built in those hallowed halls.

First, we should ask ourselves how it happened that the school closed in the first place. The most common cause is the shift from parishes being able to cover the whole cost of operating the school to parents paying around 70% (at least) of the cost. Then enrollment became about who could afford it: parish communities that could heavily subsidize and schools with generous benefactors invested in Catholic education. For working class communities where the heavy share of the cost to educate falls on the parents, the question becomes, “is it worth it?”.

So then pastors believe they have to keep tuition low. How do you offer a high quality Catholic education with inadequate funding? Cue the Catholic school death spiral. Lose enrollment, cut staff, less staff lowers quality, lose more enrollment, cut programs, lose more enrollment, increase tuition to cover fixed costs, lose more enrollment. Rumors swirl, school closed.

Not all regions of the country are the same, but maybe it’s time to start applying all the systems theory we learned in leadership courses. Dioceses learned long ago that shared services worked for healthcare, legal services, liability insurance, and payroll. Many diocesan systems are duplicating efforts across schools.

Why not come together to have one highly paid CFO looking strategically at the budget for a cluster of schools instead of 5 book keepers? What about one development director raising money for a cluster of schools and shed this idea of the one person advancement office? That way, the school “advancement director” can focus solely on enrollment… because let’s face it, enrollment and fundraising are two different skill sets. There is also economy of scale for purchasing. I know some diocese have similar systems. Have we found the right structures, implemented them well, and simultaneously ensured a quality product to make such a model successful?

Whatever we do, we must be able to provide high quality, authentically CATHOLIC education, because if we try to do it “on the cheap” we won’t fill our seats, and will have lost a massive opportunity to evangelize. Parents will pay, and funders will fund, a thriving operation that has a strategic vision for the future.