Archdiocese looking for money for schools
Colleague Liz Bowie had a story this week that touched on the challenge the Archdiocese of Baltimore is facing in funding some of its schools.
St. Mary of the Assumption School in Govans, with declining enrollments and $1 million in debt, will be the second school in Baltimore and the third in Maryland to shut down at the end of the school year. The Catholic Community School in Federal Hill and St. Michael School in Frostburg also are closing their doors.
"To us, it speaks to a much larger issue," archdiocese spokesman Sean Caine told Bowie. "No matter what, we have to find additional revenue to support these schools."
There appear to be no easy answers for schools that often provide a low-tuition alternative to the public system for low-income families. The schools currently receive $3.6 million in public money, Bowie writes; the archdiocese has asked the General Assembly for additional tax dollars to keep the schools operating but has not persuaded legislators to support the idea.
