Are Catholic schools worth it? Part two: dynamic scoring

Last updated on: March 23, 2015 at 10:03 pm by Jane the Actuary

Are Catholic schools worth it? Part two: dynamic scoring 2015-03-23T22:03:45-06:00 Jane the Actuary

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

So I had a long chat with my husband over dinner (yes, a rare treat of dinner out, the two of us; even though it’s a weeknight, the kids are off school, so we neither have to play homework cop nor shuttle them to activities), and he talked me into a more optimistic view of Catholic schools.

If you recall, in my prior post I had fretted over the “opportunity cost” of substantial time commitment of Catholic school parents, that time time spent volunteering directly at the school or working on fundraisers could otherwise be used to volunteer in other, more genuinely “charitable” ways. But here’s what my husband pointed out: in the first place, it’s not a sure thing these “volunteering man-hours” would have otherwise been directed towards, say, the local food pantry; quite likely, this is time that otherwise would have been spent at the Wellness Center* or the golf course. And even if so, if you measure the net benefit to society, every student at a parochial school is a net plus to the taxpayers who have one less student to fund, and at $13,000 a pop, that’s not insignificant. So even if these students’ parents money and volunteer energy goes to the school rather than to some more authentically charitable cause, it’s still a win, and all those other taxpayers who pay less than they otherwise would — well, they could just as well pony up the “saved” money and contribute it somewhere, but, of course, they won’t see it that way.

(The Wellness Center is the upscale fitness club near us, very popular with church families.)

But besides that — you know Republicans are always moaning that their tax cut plans aren’t properly “scored” by the CBO because they don’t acknowledge the boost their cuts will give to the economy, increasing GDP, decreasing welfare spending, and increasing revenues indirectly? (To which I say: “don’t count your chickens before they hatch.”) Well, my husband persuaded me, though without using the term directly, to apply “dynamic scoring” to the issue of Catholic schools (at least when the school is primarily supported by the school families and the parish, and the students are primarily church families).

Having a school attached to the parish doesn’t (necessarily) suck out all volunteering availability. Instead, it has the potential to build community by increasing the extent to which the church/school “complex” is a 7-day-a-week place, and those tighter community bonds can produce more involvement by parishoners, both individually and as families — and this “culture of involvement,” though established and reinforced by the school, can extend beyond that to families who send their kids to public schools, for whatever reason. (And here that can be for multiple reasons: financial, to be sure, or simply due to lack of a parochial school family tradition, or because one or more of the children have a special need, beyond the moderate needs the school can provide for, for which they need the services of the public school.)

And this is where my husband brought in his experiences in Germany: there are a great many reasons why churches in Germany, and in Europe in general, are struggling to be something other than a senior center with a Sunday liturgy attached, and churches here are doing much better, but he speculated that the tradition of Catholic schools might play a role.

Uncategorized

Catholic schools

Catholicism

Previous Post

March 22, 2015

Are Catholic schools worth it? Or should we throw in the towel?

Next Post

March 24, 2015 There is no such thing as "White Hispanic" - except in the census definitions

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Actuarial/Retirement Issues Politics Uncategorized

Select a Month September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 December 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 August 2021 June 2021 April 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Why did God reject Saul as king?

Select your answer to see how you score.

He disobeyed God He was tricked by David He was too old He lost in battle