Bishop Donald Kettler convened a steering committee to design a single Catholic school system — named Catholic Community Schools — for the St. Cloud metro area and surrounding communities.
To keep the public apprised of its work and address general questions people may have, the group provides regular updates in The Visitor and on the diocesan website (www.stclouddiocese.org; click on “St. Cloud-area Catholic schools initiative.”) The following are highlights from the committee’s Oct. 16 meeting.
- The steering committee reviewed feedback since its last meeting. Pastors attending an Oct. 2 meeting regarding CCS were supportive of Bishop Kettler’s vision for it; they discussed and asked questions regarding possible tuition and parish contribution amounts. They also had questions about how CCS’ building costs and capital improvements would be handled. The answers to those questions are still being worked out.Principals meeting Oct. 12 discussed leadership within CCS and reiterated a desire to have a CCS superintendent in place as soon as possible. They also had questions about how to complete budgets for the 2016-2017 transition year; schools will use the same process as in past years but all budget documents will have a common chart of accounts.
- The steering committee continued its discussions to finalize a draft budget to recommend to Bishop Kettler.
- The committee reviewed and briefly discussed a draft set of bylaws for CCS.
Feedback and next meeting
Questions or comments?
Email: CatholicSchoolsSC@gmail.com.
Next meeting: Oct. 30.
Catholic Community Schools Q&A
As Catholic Community Schools (CCS) takes shape, we will keep you informed of the latest news and respond to frequently asked questions on a regular basis.
Question: How will this affect my parish financially?
Answer: It’s still too early to say. The expectation, however, is that parishes will continue to provide strong financial support to their schools. CCS is aiming for a model of support that is fair and equitable for all the parishes involved.