The Archdiocese of Baltimore will attempt to stem a decade of decline in its schools by asking all its parishes to help fund local Catholic education and creating a centralized system that leaves parish priests with a diminished role in making education decisions.
After 16 months of study, a panel on Catholic education issued recommendations Thursday that attempt to stabilize a dwindling system that has closed 28 of its schools, or 40 percent, since 2000.
"I cannot think of anything more important than arresting the decline of Catholic schools," said banking executive Frank Bramble, who headed the panel.
The archdiocese believes that with the changes, enrollment should begin to grow after several years. Detailed plans to implement the recommendations will be completed by Nov. 1.
The panel proposed multiple ways to raise more money to fund schools, many of which were closed because they were in debt. The archdiocese will start a capital campaign to build an endowment to pay for facilities as well as scholarships for students with limited incomes.
"So many parents who want to send their children to our schools simply can't afford it," Bramble said.
He said the panel believed that part of the mission of the church is to provide an education for non-Catholic children in the city.
Adults who were educated in Catholic schools tend to send their children as well, he said, and the schools are important in keeping members involved in the church.
To that end, the archdiocese will ask parishes to pay a portion of the cost of maintaining the schools even if they don't have a school attached. The report suggests that can be done in a number of ways, including collecting a second offering or putting aside a percentage of the regular offering.
The idea is becoming increasingly common, said John J. Convey, a professor of education at Catholic University of America who has worked on strategic planning for Catholic schools around the country. In Atlanta, parishes that collect more than $300,000 a year pay a 12 percent tax on offerings or contributions, he said. "The parishes don't like it very much, but the archbishop mandated it," he said.
Bridgeport, Conn., and Washington, D.C., have similar taxes for their areas, he said.
The idea is not likely to get much support from the families who had students attending schools that have been closed and who are still feel lingering resentment.
"I don't think anyone would be happy about it," said Erin Munholland, the mother of two girls at Catholic schools, including one at Ascension, a school that is being closed. She said parents are bitter about the school closures, particularly when the archdiocese has said it is spending money to renovate Seton Keough School in order to open a new elementary. She said many of the Ascension parents are sending their children to public schools.
"I am not giving them a cent," said Kevin Carson, who added that he has gone to Ascension parish in Halethorpe every Sunday for 52 years and has paid for a collective 39 years of Catholic school education for his children. Carson was angered by the recent closing of Cardinal Gibbons School, where his son was a freshman last year, and Ascension.
However, Sean Caine, a spokesman for the archdiocese, said the church believes that many Catholics who had been hesitant to give in the past because of the rapid decline in enrollments would be willing to give if they saw a clear plan to address the problem.
The archdiocese will try multiple approaches, including adding bilingual immersion, International Baccalaureate and Montessori programs, to attract students to Catholic schools. While Bramble emphasized that the declines are not because Catholic schools don't have a good "product," he said that "what we did find is the product is somewhat uneven."
One of the criticisms of the schools, he said, was that they tend "to teach too much to the middle." The IB program and high-level advanced math and science classes will make the schools competitive with county public schools, where advanced classes are standard.
The archdiocese will set up a new school board and hire a new superintendent to replace the retiring Ronald J. Valenti. The new superintendent will have direct control over the principals because the chain of authority is inconsistent now, Bramble said. "There needs to be a direct line between the principal and the superintendent," he said.
The panel report describes the new model as collaborative, with parish priests still being part of religious and liturgical decisions involving the schools. Parish leaders, who in some cases now hire principals, would still have a hand in that decision by choosing from among three candidates selected by the school superintendent.
The parish leaders would also have input through a representative who has a seat on the school board.
The schools will develop a stronger Catholic identity because both non-Catholic and Catholic parents told the panel that the religious aspect was important to them. The archdiocese will strengthen the religious curriculum and require that all principals be Catholic.
Catholic school proposals
The following are some of the recommendations made by the Blue Ribbon Committee on Catholic Schools:
An archdiocesan Catholic school board should be formed.
All parishes should financially support Catholic schools.
The archdiocese should conduct a capital campaign for Catholic schools.
The superintendent of Catholic schools should be accountable for student performance and oversee the development of a comprehensive school curriculum.
The superintendent should work with pastors and parish school boards to select and evaluate principals.