Why I Like St. Joe's:
[by the First Grade class]
Family Stewardship and Tuition
St. Joseph Parish has been a tremendous supporter of our school. The parish is so dedicated to Catholic education that it built St. Joseph School before it constructed the first church. In more recent years, the parish’s financial support has been instrumental in keeping the school’s tuition affordable.
In turn, school families are expected to show their commitment to the parish. In addition to regularly attending Mass, school families are asked to participate in the stewardship program. Unlike tuition for most families, the stewardship contributions are tax-deductible.
Each family offers a written stewardship commitment to the parish annually. The suggested guideline is 1.5% of gross family income for families with only a kindergarten child or families receiving tuition assistance. The suggested guideline is 2.2% of gross family income for all other families. Families who do not participate in the stewardship program will be charged the non-subsidized tuition rate ($6,000 per child).
2007-08 Tuition for families who contribute to the stewardship program is:
| Number of Students per Family |
Tuition Rates |
with Tier 1 Assistance |
with Tier 2 Assistance |
| Kindergarten | $1,000 | $1,000 | $1,000 |
| One Student | $3,390 | $2,712 | $3,051 |
| Two Students | $5,085 | $3,814 | $4,322 |
| Three Students | $6,272 | $4,077 | $5,018 |
| Four Students | $6,781 | $4,238 | $5,086 |
| Five Students | $7,120 | $4,272 | $5,340 |
To continue to support the Church’s important mission of Catholic education and provide a level of support that is more predictable for both the parish and school, the parish has made a commitment to contribute two-thirds of the stewardship collections from school families into the St. Joseph Second Century Foundation, which was established in 2007. In addition to school family stewardship, funding sources for the Foundation include proceeds from fundraising activities and miscellaneous gifts received throughout the year.
Initially, the Foundation’s resources have been focused on the following needs of our school and school families:
- Funding of the tuition assistance program
- Funding of multi-student family tuition discounts
- Discretionary offset of school expenses to lower tuition increases
- Future academic, facilities and technology enhancements
In the 2007-2008 school year, families have three options for remitting their stewardship: automatic bank deductions, using a credit card (which incurs an additional convenience fee), or sending donations directly to church or placing them in the collection basket on a monthly basis. From a financial management standpoint, the automatic bank deduction and credit card options, which are administered through FACTS, are strongly preferred.
Questions?
For frequently asked questions, click here.