Alternative Sources in the Financing of Nongovernment Schools

Author

Mary Ellen Smith, Fontbonne College

Year of Award

1995

Degree

Master of Business Administration (MBA)

College

College of Business & Professional Studies

Degree Program

Business Administration

Department

Business Administration

Keywords

Archdiocesan, schools, tuition, private education, constitutionality, Missouri, Catholic

Abstract

Nongovernment schools must seek stable methods of financing themselves in order to move forward into a viable future. Financing has become an increasingly acute problem since the 1970s when many religiously oriented schools changed from total staffing by members of religious communities who received a stipend for their work to lay faculties on much higher salaries. Although the expenses of these schools has changed significantly, tuition has not been raised to meet the cost. There now exists a gap between the actual cost to educate a child and the tuition charged. This thesis will consider two alternative methods of financing which appear to hold some promise for funding that would not burden the families who are already paying both tuition for non-government schools and taxes for public schools which they are not using. The two methods studied are tax vouchers and bond issues. Recent Supreme Court decisions tend to support the movement to provide tax vouchers or tax credits to parents of children in non-government schools. This type of system would be most acceptable if it provided assistance to all families, not just those attending private schools. Non-government schools, have only begun to explore the possibilities of debt financing through bond issues. This may offer an attractive untaxed investment to not only the parents of students in these schools, but also the public at large. Both tax vouchers and bond issues offer non-government schools a means of closing the gap between actual cost to educate and the tuition revenues currently received.

Document Type

Restricted Thesis

Recommended Citation

Smith, Mary Ellen, "Alternative Sources in the Financing of Nongovernment Schools" (1995). All Theses, Dissertations, and Capstone Projects. 166.
https://griffinshare.fontbonne.edu/all-etds/166