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Responses to Waiting List Letter
The following are some
standard responses that can be given to questions concerning the waiting
list / St. Michael’s School Expansion letter that was sent out on
October 12. Please stress that this is a standard procedure for
determining the demand for Catholic education in our parish. This is a
question that still must be answered before the diocese will approve our
final application to complete the final two phases of the school
building. If you receive any questions that are not answered by these
responses, please forward them to me and I will get answers for you to
provide.
Thanks,
Tom Karpus
- Why did I receive
this letter? As part of our Building our Community of Faith
campaign, the diocese expects us to verify the demand for Catholic
education in our parish with something more concrete than a waiting
list. This is the process by which we will provide this
information. We sent letters to all faith formation and ECC
families as well as those families who are already on the waiting
list.
- I received more than
one letter. Why? The lists were kept separate, so there was no
effort to cross-reference them and remove duplicates. We apologize
for the confusion, but please remember that this is all being done
by a limited number of volunteers.
- Why is the deposit
value so high? The typical application fee of $100 is not large
enough to verify true interest in the school. The $1000 deposit was
selected to represent a firm commitment to enrollment.
- Will this guarantee
my child a seat in the school? This is only a deposit – it is
not a reservation for a seat in the school. Enrollment eligibility
is determined by the Catholic Schools of SW Wake County board based
on stewardship at one of the three member parishes. If the child
and his/her family meet all the criteria for enrollment, the $1000
will be applied to the first year’s tuition.
- I already have a
child in the school. Doesn’t my child automatically get accepted?
This has been the standard practice, but as demand increases there
is always the chance that the number of siblings will exceed the
total number of available seats. We have not yet had this problem,
but we have had a limited number of available seats for first-time
families on several occasions, which was part of the impetus for
investigating adding more classes. The $1000 deposit is meant to
help convince the diocese that the demand for more seats in the Cary
area is real.
- Why does this have to
be done in the next month? We are preparing our final proposal
to the diocese, and this issue became more important as the waiting
list has decreased. We believe the demand is still high enough to
justify the project, but ultimately we need to convince the diocese
of this demand before gaining approval for construction.
- I can’t afford to
come up with $1000 by November. Will this prevent my child from
being accepted? Admission is not tied to this deposit.
Children and their families will go through the standard admission
process regardless of their response to this deposit request. We do
request, however, that if you can’t make the deposit but still plan
to enroll your child when the time comes, then please return a
positive response explaining your position so that we have a record
of your interest in the school. A positive response is better than
no response at all.
- Where will the
deposit money go? Toward the building project? Deposit money
will be held in a separate account with each owner’s information
linked to the funds. When the time comes, the money will either be
applied to tuition, refunded to the applicant, or forfeited to the
school if the original applicant is accepted but declines enrollment
in the school.
- If I make the deposit
and my child is not accepted, how do I get a refund? If the
child is not accepted within 24 months of January 1, 2011, you will
receive a refund check from St. Michael the Archangel Parish.
Similarly, if we find that we do not have the funds or the business
case to proceed with the expansion project, a refund will be sent by
March 31, 2010.
- If my child is
accepted at both St. Michael’s School and St. Mary Magdalene School,
and we choose St. Mary Magdalene, will I get a refund? This is
up to the governing board to decide. Since the deposit is meant to
demonstrated demand for St. Michael School’s expansion, the original
plan was to apply the deposit to this school only. However, since
the governing board has ultimate authority on admissions, the final
decision lies with them and would be addressed on a case-by-case
basis.
- If we make the
deposit payment, will we still be required to make a donation to the
building campaign? This is a completely separate process from
the building campaign. We are asking all parishioners to contribute
to the campaign because it will benefit the parish, not just the
school. Making a contribution to the campaign is part of our
time/talent/treasure stewardship programs that all school families
are expected to participate in.
- What will happen if
we don’t raise enough money to start the project? We are
assessing our options right now to determine what course of action
to take if the money is not available, the demand is not strong
enough, or any other limitation faces the project. Several options
have already been considered, but we are refraining from any
decisions until this deposit process and the on-going fundraising is
complete.
- How will I be
approached to make a donation to the campaign? People are
already being approached by volunteer fundraisers, but due to the
size of the parish and the limited number of volunteers, much of the
fundraising to date has been through in-mass appeals and pledge
cards. Pledges can be made as a single payment or spread out over
time up to 3 years. The diocese requires us to have a certain
amount of money in the bank before approving the building project,
so we ask everyone to consider a large initial payment on any
pledges. Pledge cards are available at the parish office.
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