(Completed Application Forms with Parish Verification must be submitted to by March 1, 2024)
St. Paul the Apostle Parishioner Subsidized Tuition Requirements
As a parish, we are blessed to have a school that embraces our mission to celebrate, live and share the Gospel. Our school provides an environment to evangelize our children and form school families into communities of disciples, helping bring them closer to Jesus. Our desire is to have every Catholic school family as an active and participating member of our parish community. The richness of our Catholic faith comes through the opportunities to pray, celebrate, and learn together as a community. To this end, we encourage all our families to become active parishioners at St. Paul the Apostle Parish. The school, as a mission of the parish, receives significant financial support from the parish. The parish understands the importance of providing a Catholic education for our parish children and, thus, subsidizes overall school costs to help keep our Catholic school affordable. The St. Paul the Apostle School Advisory Board and Finance Committee of the Parish have updated the guidelines to clarify the definition of an active member of St. Paul the Apostle Parish.
Saint Paul the Apostle offers a subsidized tuition rate for those families who are active, registered and participating members of St. Paul the Apostle Church. The reduced rate will become effective when the tuition agreement, approved/signed by the pastor or his authorized representative, is received in the School’s Business Office. Criteria used in determining “active, registered and participating” membership include:
REGISTRATION One must be officially registered as a parishioner of St. Paul the Apostle as recorded in our parish database. If recently registered at St. Paul’s (within past six months), a statement from former parish of “active, registered and participating” status at that parish will be accepted to qualify for tuition discount until regular parishioner status can be established at St. Paul the Apostle Church. Registration requirement applies to the custodial parent/guardian of child.
REGULAR ATTENDANCE Catholics are obliged to attend Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation. This standard is an ancient one in our tradition, provided to help the Catholic maintain regular contact with the Word of God, the Eucharist and one’s faith community. Parents of Catholic students should be particularly aware of this teaching of the Church. Evidence of attendance at parish Masses is largely subjective (e.g. being known to the priests or staff, and seen regularly at Mass or being regularly involved in a liturgical ministry). Regular receipt in the Sunday collection basket (at least once per month) of a contribution envelope provides an objective measure of regularity of attendance at St. Paul the Apostle Parish.
FINANCIAL SUPPORT Level of financial support varies from family to family depending on the family’s income. The biblical tradition of a tithe is 10% of one’s income – Catholic guidelines generally recommend an ideal of 5% given to support one’s parish, 5% given to support other charities. The expected giving is a minimum of $10 per week or $40 per month. Genuine financial need of a family is always considered when assessing a family’s level of financial support. If annual support is less than the expected minimum, send a letter of explanation to the pastor. A follow-up appointment may be requested by the parish member or the pastor.. Frequency of Mass attendance, as demonstrated by weekly e-giving contributions or regular use of the parish contribution envelope system (see above) as well as a copy of the school’s Financial Aid application is required and taken into consideration in such cases. Failure to meet the minimum will result in forfeiture of the Parish Subsidized Tuition rate and you will be billed in arrears for full tuition rate. It must be paid in full before the child or children are re-enrolled for the next school year.
INVOLVEMENT OF PARENT OR CHILD IN A PARISH MINISTRY Verified, regular participation of the student or a parent in one of the ministries of St. Paul the Apostle Parish (excluding required school volunteer opportunities) will also be considered as a criterion to establish verification as an “active, registered and participating” parishioner of St. Paul the Apostle. If you are interested in joining a Parish ministry, please contact Jeanne Sodawasser at (563) 322-7994 or davstpaul@diodav.org.
Families with children in the school who do not fulfill the requirements above will pay full tuition. These families are still expected to support the values of the school and to participate in and help with school activities.
If a parish member has a significant obstacle that prevents them from meeting the requirements for a subsidized tuition rate, please make an appointment with the Pastor or Parish Life Director to discuss the situation.
Once you have submitted this request for subsidized tuition, you will be notified whether or not you are currently meeting these benchmarks to qualify.
