by Victoria Richardson, photos by Kelly Fletcher

[ezcol_2third]

Editor’s note: In the issue of the Dart published on may 5, this story reported in the headline and first sentence of the story, as well as other places throughout, that the rise in tuition this year was $800. This is incorrect. For the 2013-14 school year, tuition costs $10,650. Tuition will cost $11,175 next year. This is a rise of $525 in total. The Dart regrets the error.

The price of tuition for the 2014-2015 school year will be $11,475, about an $800 price raise from the current $10,650. According to STA president Nan Bone, this raise is to primarily to accommodate the annual 3% teacher salary increase.

“We have a total faculty and staff of about 80.” Bone said. “If you give them 85% of what they would get [in the Kansas City School District], it’s millions of dollars.”

The salary for Kansas City teachers changes each year and also increases based on the number of years the teacher has worked and what degree they have earned, according to the 2012-2013 Kansas City Public Schools Pay Schedule. Salaries can range anywhere from 35,000 to 75,000, according to the National Council on Teacher Quality’s website.

[nggallery id=820]

The tuition fee also contributes to the maintenance of the campus such as heating and cooling, and the cost of incidentals, according to Bone.

“It’s like when your parents have a leak in the roof,” Bone said. Not all expenses can can be planned for, and, according to Bone, the School Board, who ultimately decides the price of tuition, has to “expect the unexpected.”

To some, the “unexpected” was the raise in tuition. STA mother Jane Mulvihill-Jones, who will have 2 daughters attending St. Teresa’s in the upcoming school year said she was “shocked” when she found that tuition was rising by $800.

Even with the tuition raise, however, according to Bone, she said that St. Teresa’s is sometimes “suffering a bit” in regards to our financial situation.

“It costs us $14,000 to educate one girl,” Bone said. According to Bone, the school budget is about 8 million dollars.

According to Bone, it’s easy for people to multiply $11,000 times 600, the number of students, to calculate how much the school can spend. However, there are many aspects people forget to take into account, such as scholarships, which one-fourth of the student body receives each year.

According to Mulvihill-Jones, scholarships make the price of tuition more bearable.

“I think STA has done a great job adding scholarships over the past few years,” Mulvihill-Jones said. “This helps tremendously with tuition and its increases.”

Even though scholarships are helpful to a few students, St. Teresa’s tries to keep the price down for the entire student body, according to Bone.

For this reason, fundraisers like the Walk of Fame and the auction are extremely important, Bone said.

According to Bone however, raising money without knowing how much profit to expect is a “risky business.”

Fundraisers are not the only uncertain aspect of finances for STA, according to Bone.

“What if we drop students?” Bone said.

Between the time St. Teresa’s recruits students and six months later when they actually walk through the front door of STA, a lot can change, according to Bone.

Through the doubtful times, however, Bone has made sure to keep one goal in mind.

“I think for us, our mission is to serve the dear neighbor,” Bone said. “Our mission is to educate you. We’ll always be mindful of tuition.”

[/ezcol_2third]

[ezcol_1third_end]

Right on Target

by Libby Hyde

Miranda Schultz

Maybe they have goals and in order to reach those goals they need more money. If you raise the tuition, isn’t that almost making the school look different? If I was comparing Miege and STA, if I realize the tuition is cheaper at Miege, I am more likely to go there. It could apply to a poorer family if you its easier to pay for a cheaper school, and osme families just can’t pay for that. If you don’t know about scholarships, you are at a disadvantage.

Sam Smith

I thought they were making tuition higher for extra funds for the school. I don’t think its that unfair, i just feel like they are increasing the cost for a reason if we need those funds. If we need the money then we need it. They give us scholarships and stuff, so its not that big of a deal to raise tuition because they give us other opportunities.

[/ezcol_1third_end]