Philly Catholics Blue Ribbon Commission: What’s Missing From the Report

Last week I wrote about the Blue Ribbon Commission’s recommendations for a widespread restructuring of Philadelphia area Catholic elementary and high schools. This plan calls for numerous mergers of elementary schools throughout Philadelphia and its suburbs as well as the closing of four Catholic high schools.

The report itself is well written and demonstrates a clear commitment on the part of the Commission to objectively examine the state of Catholic education in Philadelphia and make recommendations on not only how to save it, but how to insure its future health, which means making some hard decisions. No one wants to see children uprooted and transferred to new schools. No one wants to see neighborhood icons with rich histories close down. No one wants that, but if the goal is to make sure quality Catholic education can be maintained, then making changes to meet the demands of changing demographics and cultural needs has to happen.

The response from parents and students affected by these changes has been loud and emotional, which is to be expected, and they want answers. For some of the questions or reactions being expressed, there aren’t any satisfactory answers. Complaints about increased travel time for children going to new schools and comments focused on the contributions of a particular school, the excellence of their teachers, and the uniqueness of their culture are understandable concerns and comments, but the only satisfactory answer would be to maintain the existing structure. This isn’t going to happen and for many good reasons.

However, just because such reactions are expected doesn’t mean there aren’t valid questions being asked. Not providing answers to the valid questions is, I think, a mistake, and after reviewing the Commission’s report with these questions in mind, there are some gaps that need to be filled in.

1. A clear and detailed explanation of the financial structure for both elementary and secondary schools. In other words, where does the money needed to run these schools come from?  I have a limited knowledge of how this works. I know that elementary schools attached to a specific parish rely somewhat on parish donations for funding. Each parish may have its own method for raising these funds.

Secondary schools are completely different. These are not attached to any specific parish. With the institution of open enrollment implemented quite a few years ago, a subsidy is still paid by the parishes, but it’s based on the number of parishioners whose children attend a Catholic high school no matter where it is in the diocese.

That’s all I know about how these schools are funded. What’s missing from the report is the full detail on where schools get the money to stay open. It matters because when parents are scrambling for ways to save their schools they make assumptions about how much money is available. Some believe the diocese is holding out on them and that if the diocese would just loosen the purse strings and pony up the dough, parents would have to pay less tuition and schools would not have to close no matter how few students were enrolled. This may stem from a perception that the diocese has an unlimited supply of money and where it’s being spent is a choice that rests in the hands of the Archbishop.

A diagram detailing where the money flows from not only helps dispute this perception, it could help parents who want to try to save their school come up with genuinely viable alternatives that perhaps the Commission did not consider. Without this information, it leaves a lot of angry people stumbling around in the dark latching onto any and every scheme that comes to mind.

2. An explanation of operating costs and how the money is being spent. Obviously, including the operating budget for each and every school would be cumbersome, but even a general outline is better than none. Just as there are people who are sure the diocese is holding out on the money, there are people who believe the diocese is taking the money they thought was going to the school and using it for something else. If tuition is used to pay salaries, building maintenance, and utilities for the school their child attends, then say it. If tuition is being pooled into a big pot and then redistributed across the diocese to pay operating expenses at ALL schools, then say it. The word “transparency” gets tossed around a lot these days and this is one area where it could be put into practice. This also leads to the next missing piece.

3. Talk about the clergy abuse cases and how they are affecting these decisions, if at all. I get it. This is an uncomfortable topic that’s been going on for 10 years now and everyone is afraid of opening, yet again, this can of worms. Too bad. It has to be done. If the money people are donating to parishes is being used to foot the bill for the settlements against abusive clergy, they have a right to know it. If schools are being closed because an added benefit is being able to sell off the buildings to help pay for these settlements, people should be told the truth. If this is true, then yeah, it’s not going to be easy to admit it and people are going to be very angry. But, in the absence of information people will fill in the blanks with whatever information they have at hand even if they arrive at the wrong conclusion.  If none of that is true, then people still should be told the truth because it might actually help lessen the anger. In either case, hearing some candid conversation about the impact these cases have had on parishes and schools could be one more step in helping people believe there is real change afoot and not just lip service being paid in the hopes that eventually it will all go away.

Even with these questions answered there will be people who remain dissatisfied, disenfranchised, and angry. It’s unavoidable. However, without answering these key questions, it only allows for more fuel to be added to the fire and inhibits progress. Step 1 was making the tough decisions. Step 2 is leaving room for people to process their grief and adjust to change. Having all the information available makes that step a hell of a lot easier. The faster Step 2 can be accomplished, the sooner you can get to Step 3, which is growth.