Parish subsidies, fundraising and scholarships don’t cover all the tuition needs for many Catholic schools in the Diocese of Little Rock.
The second annual Catholic Schools Scholarship Appeal will kick off Nov. 8-9 to assist those schools in raising money to close the gap. A letter and donation envelope will be mailed to previous donors. A bulletin insert will also be provided in English and Spanish to all parishes.
Vernell Bowen, superintendent for Catholic schools, said 941 students applied for scholarship assistance for the 2014-2015 school year. Most schools use a third-party provider like FACTS Management Company to review applications for tuition assistance. FACTS said the families qualified for a total of $2.4 million in assistance, but the schools were only able to provide $1.7 million, Bowen said.
Vernell Bowen, diocesan superintendent for Catholic schools
To fill the $700,000 gap, the diocese created a scholarship appeal in 2013 to raise money diocesan-wide from all Catholic parishes, with and without schools, and from all Catholic families, with or without children.
“Fifty percent of the donors and money last year came from parishes without schools,” Bowen said. “That tells me that parishioners are interested in giving even if they don’t have a school.”
For the 2013 appeal the diocese raised $21,000, after expenses. Bowen said she was able to confidentially determine through FACTS applications that seven schools needed more scholarship funding than others. They are St. Theresa, St. Edward and Mount St. Mary Academy, Little Rock; Immaculate Heart of Mary, North Little Rock (Marche); and Trinity Junior High, Christ the King and Immaculate Conception, Fort Smith.
She said 45 students will receive between $300 and $800 from the 2013 appeal. The money will be sent directly to the schools in the name of the specific student.
“It’s a start,” Bowen said.
Bowen said most schools continue to allow the students to attend their schools even if their payments and available scholarships don’t cover the tuition.
“That is OK in schools where we have seats,” Bowen said. “Plus we have an obligation to our Catholic kids, plus society in general, to make our schools affordable.”
Anyone interested in donating can send a check to Catholic Schools, Diocese of Little Rock, P.O. Box 7565, Little Rock, AR 72217.
