I. Scope of Presentation Scope  Review 2004 Tuition Study  Evaluate if Tuition Should Be Charged to Members with Enrolled Children and, if so, the Appropriate Level  Evaluate Tuition Levels for Non-Members

II. Review Purpose of School Ministry Portions of the Statement of Philosophy from the School Handbook: “Our church considers each child to be a precious gift from God. In the Bible, God assigns parents the responsibility for the development of the child spiritually, emotionally, mentally, socially and physically. To help parents carry out such awesome responsibilities, our church has undertaken the cost of conducting a school.” “We consider it a privilege to conduct our school so the children may: grow in Christian faith, develop their God-given talents, be trained in leading a God-pleasing life and receive eternal life.”

II. Review History of School Ministry  Opening of the School Approved at a Special Voter’s Meeting on December 3,  Total budget was $15,000.  At that time, 17 Children Were Enrolled with 6 Additional Possible Students.  Regarding Member Tuition: “The school will be supported by the congregation, without tuition to members’ children, so that it will involve the entire congregation in the future of the church’s youth.”

III. Cost of K – 8 School Ministry

 On average, the School Budget (No Pre-K) has grown 8% per year over the last 5 years while enrollment has grown 13%.  Last year, the resources from tuition and giving by members with enrolled children supported approximately 47% of the K-8 school budget.  Is this in line with the Congregation’s commitment to our church’s youth and other families who want their children to be educated here?

III. Tuition/Giving Towards School Ministry In the Aggregate, Member Families with Children Enrolled in our School Were No Longer Meeting the Tuition Level charged to Non-Members.

III. Congregation Support of School Ministry  Over the last 7 years, tuition has increased an average of 6%  Is this in line with the Congregation’s commitment to our church’s youth and other families who want their children to be educated here?

IV. Benchmarking – Similar Schools in Grove City Area

V. “The Future, Funding and Faith” There are copies of this document available, I encourage everyone who is interested to read it. Summary  Effectively running a Lutheran Elementary School (LES) takes a lot of time and money.  The mission of our schools are more important than ever.  Some congregations have gone to charging tuition to members  (50% in 2001 when this document was published).  Beginning to charge tuition was not easy for most congregations.

V. “The Future, Funding and Faith” Instituting tuition can be a problem if: We don’t discuss God’s will in relation to the ministry and finances of the congregation. We don’t discuss God’s purposes of the school and instead think of tuition as only a way to solve a budget crisis or force member parents to “carry their own weight”. We use it as a substitute for on-going stewardship education and encouragement.

V. “The Future, Funding and Faith” Instituting tuition can be a blessing if: Parental partnership and participation in the spiritual, educational and financial process grows. Educational quality is improved. “Kingdom Balance” within the congregation is achieved. The school’s mission is realized.

V. “The Future, Funding and Faith” Questions that need to be addressed if considering instituting Member tuition: What do you do if families can’t pay the tuition? Will tuition cause members to reduce their normal offerings? Does tuition cause members to feel less ownership of the school? In the end, how do we decide?

VI. Recommendations

VI. Recommendations – School Board 1. Create a proposal to charge member students tuition for the 2010 – 2011 school year with the following considerations:  Create a financial aide policy and fund for families who can’t pay some or all of the tuition.  Set tuition level and consider a multi-year implementation (perhaps over 3 to 5 years).  Reconsider registration and book fees at the same time.  Provide for families with multiple children enrolled (similar to how we currently charge non-members).  Consider multiple payment methods and schedules.  Communicate how the congregation and the work of the Lord will improve as a result.

VI. Recommendations – School Board (Continued) 2. Focus on recruiting and retaining good students and reaching out to un-churched families. 3. Communicate, communicate, communicate. We need to let everyone involved know of our plans for the near future, members and non-members alike. 4. Continue working with church council and monitoring the church’s budget situation. 5. Continue creating a Financial Aid fund to assist Non- Member families who may not be able to afford tuition increases.

VI. Recommendations – Congregation 1. Continue to pray for and actively support our school ministry. 2. Consider if it is OK to continue to subsidize this ministry at 35% subsidy per child. Is this congregation comfortable with this level? If not, what would be appropriate? (1/3 support seems to be the WELS standard according to “The Future, Funding and Faith” document.)

Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church Questions?