As budgetary troubles, uncertainty roil RPS, Rochester Catholic Schools sees a rebound in student numbers

Dec. 23—ROCHESTER — These are heady days for the Rochester Catholic Schools system.

After a decade of steep declines in enrollment from 2010-2020, the Catholic school system began to see an upswing in student numbers during the pandemic. It has steadily climbed since then. If the trend in applications holds steady, RCS could see a burst of student growth in 2024-25 school.

On Facebook, the system recently cheerfully announced a 134% jump in applications from the previous year

— an increase without parallel in recent RCS history. On Dec. 1, it reported 143 new applicants for spots in its preschool-through-12th grade system, more than twice the 61 applications it received at the same time last year. The lion's share of the applicants are for elementary school slots, including kindergarten.

And those numbers have increased since Dec. 1, said RCS president Annemarie Vega.

"We're getting anywhere from two to five new applicants every day. It's really hard for our team to keep up. But we're not complaining," Vega said.

Rochester Catholic Schools operates five schools. The Nest Preschool serves ages 2-5. Holy Spirit Catholic School and St. Pius X School both serve preschool through fifth grade. St. Francis of Assisi School serves students in preschool through eighth grade. Co-Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist Middle School has students in grades sixth through eighth. And Lourdes High School teaches students in grades nine through 12.

Much of that increase in enrollment at RCS comes from Rochester Public Schools. While RCS numbers have surged in recent years, Rochester Public Schools' student numbers have been in the doldrums. RPS enrollment declined in 2021 but has stabilized since. RCS officials pinpoint the pivot in student growth as happening in the midst of the pandemic when RCS returned to in-person learning months before the public schools did.

RCS specifically targeted public school families in January 2021 when it boasted both a tuition freeze and a return to in-person classes.

"I do think the pandemic shook up the educational space in our country. Parents became acutely aware of how their child learns and finding what's best for them," Vega said.

But even as the pandemic has faded in the rearview mirror, student enrollment in the Catholic school system has continued to rise. As Rochester Public Schools has been roiled first by the pandemic and then by budgetary challenges, RCS has sought to market itself as an island of stability.

On Wednesday, the calculations and incentives facing parents were abruptly altered when

Mayo Clinic parachuted in with a one-time gift of $10 million for the public schools.

The donation allowed the district to suspend at least for next year many of the measures district leaders were considering to close a $10 million budget gap. How the gift will alter parents' decisions going forward only time will tell.

A spokesperson for Rochester Central Lutheran School said the K-8 system there also saw an increase in applications and inquiries after

RPS Superintendent Kent Pekel sent out a Nov. 27 email announcing proposed cuts.

Vega said parents have been willing to give the Catholic schools a second look and consider paying private school tuition because of the budgetary challenges and uncertainty in the public schools.

But it is not the sole reason. It has also had to close the deal with parents. She credits a new strategic plan launched in January 2020 and stable leadership at both the system and school levels as factors that have expanded its market.

Many of the principals in the five Catholic schools taught in the system before becoming principals and have been in place for nearly three years, Vega said.

Currently, the Catholic schools serve 1,372 students and RPS serves 17,492 students. It costs $8,140 in tuition for a child to attend a K-8 school in Rochester Catholic Schools and $11,510 to attend Lourdes High School.

Rochester's private schools aren't the only entity where RPS competes for students.

RPS is also hemorrhaging students to public schools that surround Rochester through open enrollment. In 2021-2022,

1,893 students more from the RPS flowed to surrounding schools than those who came to Rochester from those communities,

according to a recent Answer Man column. That's more than three times the number from two decades ago.

That translates roughly into $13 million in lost revenue for RPS given the current $6,863 in per-pupil funding for schools as the money follows the student.

RPS officials say there was a drop-off in students in 2021, when the pandemic was still ongoing, but enrollment has been "fairly stable" since.

John Carlson, RPS chief administrative officer, declined to speculate whether the enrollment growth in the private schools could be interpreted as a vote by parents against the public schools.

"I think applying for a school is one piece of power you hold as a parent, like you can apply to other options," Carlson said. "Even within Rochester Public Schools, you can apply for other options. I think that choice resonates with a lot of our parents."

And while growth in applications is a good sign for any school or system, it doesn't automatically translate that a child will attend that school.

"I'm more interested in what the actual enrollment year over year is versus the number of applications they have," Carlson said.