Tuition
Through the sacrifice and dedication of our hard-working faculty and staff, the support of our alumni and school families, the fundraising efforts of our PTO, and through the assistance of our parish, Saint Mary's Catholic School is able to provide the highest quality education at an extremely affordable price per student.
St Mary's has a single tuition rate for all of our students. The tuition rate is updated annually and increases are kept as low as possible from year-to-year.
Please click HERE to download the complete summary of St Mary's Tuition & Fees.
The Cost of Education at St Mary's Catholic School
Every student at our school is receiving financial aid. Yes, every student from every family. The difference between what any family pays and what our education actually costs — financial aid — is made up by several means, including the constant fundraising efforts of the PTO, the contributions of the annual Golf Classic and Gala, donations from friends and alumni of the school and parish groups like the Knights of Columbus and St. Mary’s Women’s Club. But the most important source of support for the school comes from St. Mary’s Church, without which the school would not exist.
The primary purpose of our school is to teach our students to live as faithful disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, and for Catholic Christians such discipleship requires attending Mass every Sunday of the year both to fulfill the precept of keeping the Lord’s Day holy and to obey the command of Christ about the weekly celebration of the Holy Eucharist: “Do this in remembrance of me.” (1 Corinthians 11:24)
Catholics who verify mass attendance at St Mary’s Church each Sunday (except for occasional trips away or serious illness) are eligible for a discount on school tuition if and only if the following four conditions are fulfilled:
- They must attend Mass at St Mary’s Church each weekend either on Saturday afternoon or Sunday morning and demonstrate attendance by placing a stewardship envelope in the collection. This requirement cannot be fulfilled without placing a stewardship envelope in the collection because that is how we take attendance.
- They must be registered and active members of the parish and receive regular communication from the church.
- They must support the parish financially according to the standard stewardship guidelines with a minimum weekly gift of at least $37.50. Any family unable to offer this minimum level of giving is welcome to meet with the pastor to request an adjustment for the duration of their extenuating circumstances.
- Families who make donations by Electronic Fund Transfer must still attend Mass each week and verify attendance with the stewardship envelope. The discount is given for verified Mass attendance, not in exchange for support of the church.
This discount is not automatic, and eligibility for the discount is reviewed every semester by the pastor. Any family which does not fulfill all these requirements will lose the verified Mass attendance discount and be required to pay full tuition.
Financial Aid
Direct financial aid is not available to those who are not members of the parish, but three types of financial aid are available to active parishioners of St Mary's Church:
- Active parishioners who cannot afford tuition even after the parishioner tuition discount is deducted are welcome to apply for financial aid, a process that begins with the completion of a financial aid questionnaire through FACTS. Applications for financial aid from active parishioners are open from mid-January through February, and the amount awarded to each applicant is determined by the recommendation of FACTS and the total funding available to the parish in each academic year. Award decisions are announced as soon as possible, usually by late March. Please contact the Director of Admissions & Financial Aid for more information.
- The school also maintains an emergency aid fund, which is used to assist families who experience a crisis during the school year. In the case of injury, illness, or job loss when there is no time to apply for financial aid as described above, please contact the principal to describe the situation. The award of funds is unique to each situation and depends on the total funding available to the school in each academic year.
- Finally, in addition to financial aid awarded after completion of a FACTS application, active parishioners with genuine financial need may qualify for a reduction in the minimum weekly offertory gift to the parish without losing the parishioner discount. Anyone in financial need who desires to request a reduction in their average gifts to the church while still remaining eligible for the parishioner tuition rate must meet with the pastor of St Mary's to review the need and agree to a plan for remaining active in the parish. Please call the church office to schedule an appointment to discuss school enrollment. This may be done at any time during the school year.
Donations for Financial Aid
The funds given in financial aid through the regular annual disbursal of aid and the emergency fund come from the general parish budget and from restricted gifts given for this purpose. Anyone who desires to make more funds available for the benefit of families in need is welcome to make a gift to the church or school for just this purpose. Such gifts are tax deductible and are received with gratitude. It is even possible to make such contributions through FACTS tuition draft, and the amount can be designated when signing up for FACTS at any time. Please note that these donations cannot be accepted on behalf of an individual student because that would simply constitute paying the tuition of a specific student, and tuition payments are not tax deductible. Anyone who desires to pay tuition for a student other than one’s own children is welcome to do so, but those funds would be accepted by the school simply as the payment of tuition