Catholic Schools Week
Diocese helps make tuition affordable for families

By Tim Puet
Catholic Times Reporter

Catholic elementary and secondary schools in the Diocese of Columbus strive to remain affordable and accessible to any family desiring a Catholic education for their son or daughter by helping them cover the cost of tuition in a variety of ways. 

One source of significant help is the diocesan tuition assistance fund, which in the past 14 years has distributed nearly $10.5 million to nearly 20,000 students. Lynn Altomari, associate director of school finance and government programs for the diocesan Office of Catholic Schools, said that for the 2019-20 academic year, the fund is distributing $750,775 to 1,075 students, for an average grant of $698 per student.   

Grants range from $100 to $2,500, depending on a student’s need, as determined through an impartial process by FACTS Tuition Management, a Lincoln, Nebraska-based company not otherwise affiliated with the diocese.

Figures provided by Altomari show that the amount distributed by the tuition assistance fund has grown from about $404,000 in 2006-07 to $750,775 for 2019-20. 

The fund has four major revenue sources: the Legacy of Catholic Learning Endowment, established by Bishop James Griffin in 1989; the Bishop’s Annual Appeal; the annual Bishops’ Golf Classic in August; and endowments administered by The Catholic Foundation.
The tuition assistance fund provides a portion of the cost of a Catholic education for a number of families each year, but in no instance does it come close to paying full tuition, Altomari said. She added that the number of students receiving aid from the fund always has been less than half the number applying for it.

This year, for example, 2,836 students from 1,697 families applied for aid, meaning 1,761 (62.1 percent) of the applicants did not receive assistance from the fund. Altomari also said the total need among all applicants was $6.77 million. The amount distributed represented only 11.1 percent of that need. The percentage figure for each of the past 14 years is similar.
“Clearly, there is an immediate and pressing need to increase the amount of assistance available to families,” she said.

Besides the tuition assistance fund, parents have several other sources to which they can turn for financial aid. All schools in the diocese, as well as several parishes, have funds to help parents in need. Many schools offer family discounts or flexible payment plans, and a number of scholarship programs are sponsored each year by organizations such as school parent groups and the Knights of Columbus. Details are available from individual schools and parishes.

In addition, the Ohio Department of Education may be able to provide aid through the EdChoice, Jon Peterson Special Needs, and Autism scholarship programs.

The EdChoice Scholarship Program was created to provide students from underperforming public schools the opportunity to attend participating private schools. It provides a maximum of 60,000 scholarships to eligible students. Beginning with the 2020-21 school year, EdChoice scholarships will be provided to any student in kindergarten through 12th grade whose family income falls at or below 200 percent of federal poverty guidelines.

The Jon Peterson program for special needs students provides scholarships to students who are eligible to attend kindergarten through 12th grade and have an individualized education plan (IEP) from their school district of residence. The amount of each scholarship is based on the disability identified on the plan and is capped at $27,000 annually. 

The scholarship pays for services outlined in the IEP. A portion of the money also may be used to pay for  tuition as long as the school is a Peterson scholarship provider and services a minimum of one of the goals on the student’s IEP. 

A student identified as having a speech and language impairment may  utilize the scholarship only to pay for related services that are included in the IEP, and not for tuition.
The Autism Scholarship Program gives the parents of children with autism who qualify for a scholarship the choice to send the child to a special education program other than the one operated by the public school district of residence to receive his or her education and the services outlined in the child’s IEP.

More information on all these scholarships is available online at education.ohio.gov/Topics/Other-Resources/Scholarships.