{"id":1406,"date":"2019-09-12T15:00:42","date_gmt":"2019-09-12T20:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.mlc-wels.edu\/wels-educator\/?p=1406"},"modified":"2019-07-22T15:20:32","modified_gmt":"2019-07-22T20:20:32","slug":"flexible-tuition-a-solution-for-struggling-congregations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.mlc-wels.edu\/wels-educator\/2019\/09\/12\/flexible-tuition-a-solution-for-struggling-congregations\/","title":{"rendered":"Flexible Tuition: A Solution for Struggling Congregations"},"content":{"rendered":"

Written by Bill Fuerstenau<\/em><\/p>\n

The Problem
\n<\/strong>Many WELS congregations that support elementary schools are struggling. Membership in our churches is shrinking, and with that, financial support as well. When this happens, church leadership must choose where to use their limited financial resources to remain good stewards of their financial blessings from God. For smaller churches, this restricts the programs and services they can provide to their members if they are also to maintain a fully staffed, effective school.<\/p>\n

The rising cost of education presents an especially difficult problem for rural congregations operating schools. Rural churches cannot easily absorb increased costs and are faced with the prospect of closing the doors to their schools, and, without the influx of younger families drawn to the school and into the churches, the congregations themselves may be in jeopardy. According to the Commission on Lutheran Schools, ministries in small Midwestern towns and rural settings have seen a consistent decline, and increased operational costs are noted as one of the main reasons (Book of Reports and Memorials 2017, p. 67).<\/p>\n

The Needed Change
\n<\/strong>The current funding model used by many of our congregations is one of heavy congregation subsidy toward the school. This was borne of the belief that all members of a church have a responsibility to ensure the Christian education of the congregation\u2019s children. While such an idea is noble and does have a biblical foundation in Matthew 19:14, it is no longer viable for many shrinking rural congregations. A change in the funding model is the only long-term solution for most of these schools.<\/p>\n

What This Change Looks Like
\n<\/strong>What does the ideal funding structure look like in this situation? Research studies on school funding in WELS schools are few and far between. In his thesis, Jason Gibson (2016) explored the relationship between tuition and enrollment in WELS schools. His study concluded that there is no apparent correlation between tuition levels and school enrollment; growing and shrinking WELS schools generally do not have different funding structures; and schools with a funding philosophy that parents should have the primary responsibility of funding their children\u2019s education experienced the most growth.<\/p>\n

These results fly in the face of those who say increased tuition will automatically lead to lower enrollment numbers. Gibson\u2019s study also found that congregations with a larger number of Kindergarten-8th<\/sup> grade children had larger elementary school enrollments (Gibson, 2016), which is logical and led him to theorize: \u201cIf it can be determined that spending congregational resources on ministry other than the LES positively affects the number of K-8 children in the congregation, directing congregational resources away from the LES could actually positively impact LES enrollment\u201d (Gibson, 2016, p. 39).<\/p>\n

In a rural congregation that spends nearly two-thirds of its annual budget maintaining an elementary school, funding for other ministry areas is severely limited. Increasing tuition revenue and decreasing congregation subsidies would allow for an expansion of the church\u2019s ministry in other areas.<\/p>\n

According to Krause and Rogalski (2006), the current subsidy-heavy model is not equitable because it gives the same amount of assistance to families regardless of their financial needs (as cited in Gibson, 2016, p. 15). A much more fair and sustainable system has come onto the private education scene in recent years. Called \u201cindexed tuition,\u201d \u201cflexible tuition,\u201d or \u201csliding-scale tuition,\u201d this system is all about offering a wide range of tuition levels based on families\u2019 individual financial situations (An Innovative Tuition, 2014).<\/p>\n

By placing families into tuition brackets based on their income levels, congregations would decrease the subsidy amount automatically by giving less assistance to families that can afford more tuition. The church could simply budget to subsidize the amount over and above what families are charged, which would be substantially less than in the past, and the need for traditional financial aid would disappear.<\/p>\n

Taking the idea of \u201cflexible tuition\u201d even further, The Gordon School in Rhode Island has created a system of completely individualized tuition called Family Individualized Tuition, or FIT. Within this system, each family applies for their tuition amount using their previous year\u2019s tax information. They each receive a tuition quote that is good for the next three years, meaning that if a family first applies for the 2019\/2020 school year, the amount they are quoted is what they can expect to pay for 2019\/2020, 2020\/2021, and 2021\/2022. During the third year the process is repeated, and each family\u2019s financial situation is reevaluated.<\/p>\n

Parents no longer have to worry about surprise tuition increases or changing financial aid awards, which decreases anxiety and helps each family fully commit to be a part of the school community (Reinventing Your Tuition Model, 2018). Using a funding structure like this would be the ultimate in equity since school families vary widely in income level.<\/p>\n

The Time for Change Is Now
\n<\/strong>Change in a church is never easy, and changes involving money are often exponentially more difficult. However, if we wish to continue offering the same high-quality Christ-centered education for years to come, the time for change is now. Viable alternative funding structures exist, and they are starting to prove their effectiveness (An Innovative Tuition, 2014; Reinventing Your Tuition Model, 2018). Implementing this change will not only create an atmosphere of equity and parental ownership (Reinventing Your Tuition Model, 2018), but it will also free up large amounts of budget dollars to expand the ministry opportunities at many of our smaller churches.<\/p>\n

The Great Commission that guides our church body can be reasonably divided into three parts: the first, referring to the church; the second, the school; and the third, a promise from our God. Let these words be the reason we explore every option to continue offering Christian education! \u201cTherefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age\u201d (Matthew 28:19-20 NIV).<\/p>\n

William Fuerstenau (MLC \u201911) currently teaches at Bethany Lutheran School-Hustisford WI. William is also enrolled in MLC\u2019s Master of Science in Educational Administration with a principal emphasis. <\/em><\/p>\n

Resources
\n<\/strong>Enrollment Catalyst. (2017, March 17). An Innovative Tuition and Financial Aid Strategy for Private Schools | Rick Newberry’s Blog. Retrieved February 24, 2019, from https:\/\/www.enrollmentcatalyst.com\/2014\/01\/22\/an-innovative-tuition-and-financial-aid-strategy-for-private-schools\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Gibson, J. (2016). The Relationship Between Tuition and Enrollment in WELS Lutheran Elementary Schools (Unpublished master’s thesis). Martin Luther College. Retrieved February 24, 2019, from https:\/\/mlc-wels.edu\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2016\/08\/Gibson-Thesis.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n

Reinventing Your Tuition Model [Audio blog interview]. (2018, December 11). Retrieved February 24, 2019, from https:\/\/enrollment.org\/podcast\/459-season-1-ep-17-reinventing-your-tuition-model<\/a><\/p>\n

The Gordon School. Accessed June 5, 2019, from https:\/\/www.gordonschool.org\/admission\/family-individualized-tuition<\/a><\/p>\n

Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod. (2017). Book of Reports and Memorials. Waukesha, WI: Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Share this:<\/h3>