( BoeVs — HO\i4 VAOCIA - . . HOW MUCH CATHOLICS PAY By Russell M. Boehning, S. J. 1J£ou> (¿Much CATHOLICS PAY • An analysis of the Cost of C a t h o l i c E d u c a t i o n In the State of Washington for 1946 • By RUSSELL M. BOEHNING, S. J . Instructor of Economics G O N Z A G A UNIVERSITY SPOKANE, WASHINGTON How Much Catholics Pay eATHOLICS pay twice! Besides supporting the regular public schools as citizens, Catholics have developed their own education- al system. Of all the private schools and pri- vate school students in America, four-fifths are Catholic schools and Catholic school stu- dents. Catholics are justly proud of their school system. But at the same time they are painfully aware of something that has evi- dently escaped the notice of many, viz. that this is done without the financial support of ;he State. Federal and State legislation curtailing or attempting to eliminate Catholic schools keeps coming up regularly under one guise or other. Since the nefarious Oregon School Bill of 1922, numerous Bills have been proposed af- fecting the Catholic schools. Many of the Bills would restrict the operation of the Catholic schools; others would offer token aid. Recently the vicious Washington School Bill No. S-28 was proposed which would make attendance at private schools possible only under a quasi- permit or license. Much of the opposition to Catholic schools has resulted not from ill will, but from thoughtlessness on the part of many. I t has re- sulted from a lack of appreciation for the cul- tural and financial contributions that Catholic schools are making to the State. I t is believed that an up-to-date objective report on just what Catholic education costs, will greatly aid their cause. — 3 — With this incentive, a detailed statistical analysis has been prepared to determine the cost of Catholic education in the State of Washington for 1946. In Washington 10.8% of the population is Catholic. Nevertheless, the Catholic school system has grown in Washing- ton until now there are 118 fully accredited colleges, high schools, and grade schools. These schools are educating 25,804 of America's young men and women; and of these 2,067 are non-Catholic Students. The important aca- demic part played by the Catholic schools in the educational system of the State commands respect, and calls for no further elucidation. This report will consider separately the cost of Catholic higher education, secondary, and primary education in the State of Washing- ton for 1946. And then a comparison will be made between the cost of Catholic secondary and primary education and the cost of the same education in the State public schools. This comparison will show the financial con- tribution made to the, State of Washington by the Catholic High schools and grade schools for 1946. A similar comparative study was at- tempted for the higher education, but data about the State colleges and universities are unavailable. * ( 1 ) . Higher Education eATHOLIC higher education in the State of Washington has progressed steadily. At the present time there are five Catholic col- leges and Universities plus two collegiate sem- inaries. These colleges are educating 3,890 students, of whom 1,023 are non-Catholics. These schools are staffed by 124 Priests and Religious teachers, and 86 lay-teachers. The two collegiate seminaries are preparing young men for the Sacred Priesthood. The curricula of these two schools are entirely on the colleg- iate level. These schools prepare the students for the A. B. and M. A. degrees. The chief * Please refer to appendix on page 14 for method used. difference between these schools and their cur- ricula and the regular college lies in their dis- tinctly ecclesiastical purpose, which as a rule, admits only those who intend to enter the sac- red ministry. Comparable studies are offered by the State universities and colleges, and thus the cost of operating these schools forms an integral part of this report. The cost of Catholic theological education will be excluded from this report. The following table lists the costs of Catholic higher education in the State of Washington for 1946. TABLE I Cost of Catholic Higher Education in the State of Washington for 1946: Total Per Student Current Operating Expenses $ 265,692.14 $ 68.30 Fixed Expenses 100.762.88 26.52 Students' Books & Supplies .... 149,183.04 38.35 Schools' Books 8. Supplies 18,099.93 4.85 Lay-teachers' Salaries 135,552.75 34.85 Priests' & Religious' Salaries 148,700.00 38.23 Total Costs — M $ 817,990.74 $ 211.10 Secondary Education JN WASHINGTON there are thirty-four I Catholic high schools educating 5,029 stu- dents. Of this number, only 319 students are non-Catholics. These Catholic high schools are staffed by 273 Priests and Religious teachers, and 34 lay teachers, or one teacher for 16.4 students. The ratio of students to teachers in the public schools is 25.6 students per teacher. There are four types of Catholic high schools in the State of Washington. There are parochial high schools which are continuations of the parish grade schools and under the im- mediate control of the parish. Some of these schools offer complete high school courses. In others, especially in rural districts, the parish offers a junior high school. Perhaps the most common type of Catholic high schools is that which is conducted by the various Religious Orders. This type includes the regular high schools and academies. These — 5 — schools are operated independently of the par- ish churches, and hence must seek their sup- port through tuition. In conjunction with these schools, boarding facilities are often offered. In this report adjustment has been made to eliminate this added expenditure that only the pure academic costs would appear. The third type of Catholic high schools is the diocesan central high school. These schools are maintained by diocesan funds, or by assess- ments on various parishes in the area they serve. In the State of Washington there are two such schools; one is a school for boys in Seattle, and the second a school for girls in Spokane. The fourth type of Catholic high schools is the least known of all; it is the institutional high school. These schools are operated in con- junction with orphanages and schools of cor- rection. Here again adjustment is made to show only the pure academic costs. Table I I lists the itemized costs of Catholic secondary education in the State of Washington for 1946. TABLE I I Cost of Catholic Secondary Education in the State of Washington for 1946 : Total Per Student Current Operating Expenses $ 233,973.50 $ 46.52 Fixed Expenses' I -- 86,914.13 17.28 Students' Books & Supplies 42,207.63 8.39 Schools' Books & Supplies 21,124.50 4.20 Lay-teachers' Salaries 39,903.41 7.93 Priests' & Religious' Salaries 214,650.00 42.68 Total Costs $ 638,773.17 $ 127.00 Primary Education IT MIGHT well be said that the grade schools form the very backbone of the Catholic ed- ucational system. Four-fifths of all Catholic school students are attending grade schools. And wherever there is a sufficient concentra- tion of Catholics to make a school's existence possible, there is always the Catholic grade school. In the State of Washington there are — 6 — seventy-seven Catholic grade schools educat- ing 16,885 students, of whom 725 are non- Catholics. The Catholic grade schools follow closely the classification listed above under secondary education. In Washington, however, there are no diocesan central grade schools. The paro- chial grade school is predominantly the most common and familiar type of Catholic school. The second, and much smaller class of Cath- olic grade schools, is the academy. These schools are operated independently of the var- ious parishes, and are conducted by the several Religious Orders. The third, and little known class of Catholic grade schools, is the institu- tional schools. These schools are operated in conjunction with orphanages and schools of correction. The Catholic grade schools are almost ex- clusively staffed by Religious Women. The Catholic grade schools in the State of Wash- ington are conducted by 504 Religious Women, 10 Priests and Religious Men, and 18 Lay- teachers. The ratio of students to teachers is 32.3 students per teacher. The corresponding ratio for the public schools is 32.7 students per teacher. The following table gives an itemized list of the cost of Catholic primary education in the State of Washington for 1946. TABLE I I I Cost of Catholic Primary Education in the State of Washington for 1946: Total Per Student Current Operating Expenses .— $ 252,049.85 $ 15.00 Fixed Expenses — 176,062.98 10.43 Students' Books & Supplies 72,181.49 4.28 Schools' Books & Supplies 58,080.61 3.44 Lay-teachers' Salaries 12,301.16 .73 Priests' & Religious Salaries 214,727.50 12.72 Total Costs $ 785,403.59 $ 46.60 Government Aid ( ^ W E N T Y - T H R E E of the Catholic grade schools and high schools receive a token of Government aid. This Government aid is given for several purposes, e. g. milk fund, hot lunches, and for the education of Indians. Table IV lists the total amount of Government aid received by the Catholic schools in the State of Washington for 1946. TABLE I Y Government Aid to Primary and Secondary Students in the Catholic Schools of Washing- ton: Total Amount of Government aid received B E $ 24,723.10 No. of schools benefitting from Gov't, aid 23 No. of students benefitting from Gov't aid 4,969 Average assistance received per student per school day 2.8c * Contains $1,000 given by the State for transportation reimbursement. Value of School Buildings A TTENTIOE" of the reader has been called C s i . to the fact that the valuation of the Catholic Schools, in this report, is based upon insurance valuations and hence does not in- clude the values of the school lands. Insurance values represent 90% of the actual valuation of the buildings. The reader will make adjust- ment for land value, and for the fact that in- sured valuations are for the most part based on pre-war values. In the following table the insured valuations for each level of education is shown; and then the total actual valuation for the Catholic schools in the State of Wash- ington is indicated. TABLE V Value of the Catholic Schools in the State of Washington for 1946: Per Student Insured Value Actual Value Higher Education $834.21 $3,255,261.36 Secondary Education .... 426.95 2,147,162.62 Primary Education ........ 250.60 4,231,411.82 Total insured valuation (90% of actual value) $9,633,835.80 Total actual value of Catholic schools in Washington $10,704,262.00 — 8 — Summary OR A QUICK reference to the extent and cost of Catholic education in the State of Washington for 1946, the following two tables have been prepared. These tables list the data according to each of the three levels of educa- tion, and then the totals are brought forward. The final total costs on Table V I I will show the cost of conducting the Catholic Schools TABLE VI Extent of Catholic Education in the State of Washington for 1946 : Total Number of Schools: Higher Education ... 7 Secondary Education 34 Primary Education -— 77 118 Number of Students: Higher Education Secondary Education Primary Education .. 3,890 5,029 16,885 25,804 Number of Priests & Religious Teachers: Higher Education ..... 1 2 4 Secondary Education —— — 273 Primary Education .—.—...—.. 514 911 Number of Lay-Teachers: Higher Education ..... 86 Secondary Education 34 Primary Education ......1 18 138 Number of Non-Catholic Students Attending: Higher Education ........ 1,023 Secondary Education 319 Primary Education ... , 725 2,067 * plus 21 part time teachers. TABLE V I I Cost of Catholic Education in the State of Total Washington for 1946 : Current Operating Expenses: Higher Education $ 265,692.14 Secondary Education 233,973.50 Primary Education 252,049.85 $ 751,715.49 Fixed Expenses: Higher Education $ 100762.88 Secondary Education 86,914.13 Primary Education i...... 176,062.98 $ 363,739.99 Students' Books & Supplies: Higher Education $ 149,183.04 Secondary Education 42,207.63 Primary Education 72,181.49 $ 263,572.16 Schools' Books & Supplies: Higher Education $ 18,099.93 Secondary Education 21,124.50 Primary Education 58,080.61 $ 97,305.04 Lay-Teachers' Salaries: Higher Education $ 135,552.75 Secondary Education 39,903.41 Primary Education 12,301.16 $ 187,757.32 Priests' 8. Religious Salaries: Higher Education $ 148,700.00 Secondary Education 214,650.00 Primary Education 214,727.50 $ 578,077.50 TOTAL COSTS $ 2,242,167.50 The comparative per-student costs of Cath- olic education in the State of Washington for 1946 are listed in Table VII I . In the following section a comparison will be made between the per-student cost of Catholic education and the per-student cost of public school education. — 10 — TABLE V i l i Per Student Cost of Catholic Education in the State of Washington for 1946: High Grade College School School Students Students Students Current Operating Expenses .... $ 68.30 $ 46.52 $ 15.00 Fixed Expenses 26.52 17.28 10.43 Students' Books & Supplies 38.35 8.39 4.28 Schools' Books & Supplies 4.85 4.20 3.44 Lay-teachers' Salaries . — 34.85 7.93 .73 Priests' & Religious' Salaries 38.23 42.68 12.72 Total Costs $ 211.10 $ 127.00 $ 46.60 Public School Costs Compared ATA on the cost of State higher educa- tion in the State of Washington is un- available, as mentioned above. The cost of Catholic higher education has been itemized in Table I . Figures on the cost of public primary and secondary education of the State of Wash- ington for 1946 has been taken from the "Thirty-Eighth Biennial Report" of the Super- intendent of Public Instruction. Unfortunately the State reports do not give a detailed division of costs. The insured valua- tions are for the entire public primary and secondary school system. Accordingly, the in- sured school valuation for the public grade schools and high schools amounts to $553.29 per student. The per student insured valua- tion of Catholic schools has been listed above in Table V. However, for comparative pur- poses, the average insured per student value of Catholic grade and high schools was $291.07, or 52.6% of the value of the public schools. — l i — Next to be considered is the comparative cost per student in daily attendance. Just what costs are included under the State's fig- ures cannot be ascertained. The costs of Cath- olic primary and secondary education are itemized in Table I I and Table I I I . However, the published average cost per student in the public primary schools in the State of Wash- ington for 1946 was $162.28, and $240.59 for the regular and senior high school students. In comparison, the average cost per student in the Catholic grade schools for the same period was $46.60, or 28.7% of the public grade school per student costs. The average cost per student in the Catholic high schools was $127.00, or 53.2% of the public high school per student costs. For purely comparative purposes, it is in- teresting to note that were the State of Wash- ington during 1946 to have taken over the Catholic grade schools and high schools, the additional salary expense for the State grade school teachers only would have been compar- able to the total cost of operating both the Catholic grade schools and high schools. If the State Took Over . . . E R E the State of Washington to take over the education of the students in the Catholic primary and secondary schools, the State would have to make a very large capital expenditure. The present facilities are already inadequate to care for present needs. At the average State rate of $553.29 per student, to accommodate the 21,914 Catholic primary and secondary students would necessitate the cap- ital expenditure of $12,124,796.06 merely to supply the average school property per stu- dent. —12—T Were the State to take over the education of the Catholic primary and secondary stu- dents, it would necessitate a large added an- nual expenditure. At the published rates for Washington public grade school students for 1946, to educate the 16,885 students in the Catholic grade schools would have cost the State an added $2,740,097.80 for 1946. To pro- vide comparable education for the 5,029 stu- dents attending the Catholic high school in the State of Washington during 1946, it would have cost the State an added $1,209,727.11. Financial Contribution to the State of Washington The total financial contribution to the State of Washington by the Catholic primary and secondary schools for 1946 is $3,949,824.91. Besides this current saving, the Catholic pri- mary and secondary schools saved the State the capital expenditure of $12,124,796.06 for additional school buildings. Appendix The data for this statistical analysis was gathered from questionnaires which were sent to all the Catholic schools in the State of Washington. The unusually high percentage of returns on these questionnaires clearly indi- cates the keen interest of the various princi- pals and pastors of the Catholic schools in this timely study. Eighty-eight per cent of all the Catholic schools in the State of Washington replied to the questionnaire sent to them. This large percentage makes it possible to interpo- late and determine the total cost after the manner of recognized statistical procedure. Throughout this report the term "school" is to be understod as including the entire school unit. In the case of parochial schools, this means everything but the church and rectory. In other words, the term "school" is taken to include the school buildings proper, equip- ment, library, gymnasium, auditorium, and Sisters' convent. While these last two inclu- sions might at first sight seem extraneous, still it must be held that they exist because of, and directly for, the school. The data received from the questionnaires have been adjusted to make allowance for the few schools not represented. A further cause for adjustment is occasioned by the fact that a number of the Catholic schools also provide boarding school facilities. Since the public schools do not offer similar accomodations, ad- justment and interpolation is necessary to de- termine the pure academic costs. Under the general heading of Current Oper- ating Expenses were included the following charges: expenses for janitors, fuel, lights, general upkeep, and miscellaneous expenses. Separate accounting was made for the costs for books and supplies to the students and to the schools. (These are supplied to the stu- dents in the State public grade schools and — 14 — high schools.) Under "Fixed Expenses" were included the insurance costs, interest ex- pense, and depreciation. In determining the true valuation of the Catholic school property and its annual depre- ciation, an adjustment must be made by the reader. Throughout all the tables and charts, unless otherwise specified, the insured valua- tion was listed. This has been done for two reasons. First, this plan was adopted that the data compiled for the Catholic schools may be compared to the data supplied by the State of Washington for its schools. Second, while the insured valuation does not give a true estimate of the worth of the various schools, still it avoids many of the evils of subjective apprais- als. Both public and private schools are valu- ated, for the most part, on the pre-war basis. In this they are comparable. Adjustment must be made by the reader for the land valuation for all the Catholic schools. This figure will not be considered in this report due to the lack of necessary data. Allowance must also be made for the fact that the costs of Catholic school buildings are often minimized by the voluntary free work of the parishioners. Attention must also be paid to the fact that the cost of the Priests' and Religious' salaries in no way reflects the true cost of instruction. The salaries for the Priests and Religious, as used throughout this report, are based upon the mere living expenses of the teachers. This is in sharp contrast to the salaries paid to the public school teachers performing similar services. The difference is the direct contribu- tion to Catholic education made by conse- crated men and women who have dedicated their lives to make Catholic education possible and at the very minimum of expense. Data for this report has been taken from an unpublished thesis by the present writer, and on file at the Gonzaga University Library. — 15 — THE C A T H O L I C S C H O O L FOR THE mere fact that a school gives some religious instruction (often extremely stinted), does not bring it into accord with the rights of the Church and of the Christian family, or make it a fit place for Catholic stu- dents. To be this, it is necessary that all the teaching and the whole organiz- ation of the school, and its teachers, syllabus and text-books in evepr branch, be regulated by the Christian spirit, under the direction and maternal super- vision of the Church; so that religion may be in very truth the foundation and! crown of the youth's entire train- ing; and this in every grade of school, not only the elementary, but the inter- mediate and the high institutions of learning as . well." lEnc. on Christian Education).