Local parochial schools looking at ways to make up for end of private scholarship program

Nov. 21—Local parochial schools are left scrambling to find ways to help families who benefited from the Invest in Kids scholarship program after state lawmakers adjourned their recent veto session without renewing the program.

Donors who gave through the program could claim a 75% tax credit from the state for their donations to participating schools of their choice. The program also gave families the opportunity to attend private schools who otherwise would not be able to afford it.

Now, 9,600 students in the state who currently receive those scholarships may have to find another way to pay for their education or transfer to a public school. Local parochial schools are trying to avoid that.

Effingham County has the largest number of scholarships awarded in Region 5, which encompasses the southern portion of the state, according to the organization overseeing the program, Empower Illinois. It is the largest region in the state, with 37 counties. Last school year, 191 scholarships were awarded in Effingham County. So far this year, 181 have been given. Empower Illinois said it will continue to award scholarships as funds become available through the end of December when the program will sunset. The scholarships, however, will cover the remainder of the school year.

Sacred Heart

Sacred Heart School has 160 students enrolled in K-8, and half of them benefit from the program. The number participating has grown exponentially since the school started with the program in its first year in 2018-19. Then, only 14 students received scholarships through the program.

As awareness of the program and the pool of donors has grown, everyone who applied for scholarships has been assisted this school year, according to Billi Jansen, Director of Operations for Sacred Heart Church and School.

While many students in the program were already enrolled in the school or had older siblings enrolled, the school has enrolled new students through the program. Jansen said the school receives a handful of them every year from within the county, and not all choose the school for religious reasons.

"Every year, we have new families that approach us. They attend the open house. What we find is parents come to us looking for that small school atmosphere," she said.

Jansen estimates only about half the students receiving scholarships through the program are Catholic, noting a third of the total student enrollment at the school is not Catholic.

Jansen said the program has taken the financial burden off of families when choosing a school. Once the program expires, though, that burden will return.

"A couple of them, their attendance here was dependent on getting that scholarship. Those are the ones I am concerned with at this point," she said.

The discontinuation of the program comes at a time when Jansen said students receiving the scholarships have been at the school a year or two and have settled in, and their parents have noticed a positive change.

"It's working really well for them individually, for their families, and then now the money is being removed," she said.

She said the parish's finance council has been discussing the possible expiration of the program for the last year. Still, no decisions have been made as they were waiting to see what the Legislature would do.

"We will see a need for a possible another way of funding, which is unlikely, or even look at ourselves as a parish having to offer scholarships, which then has the trickle-down effect to affect the budget as a whole, resources, everything," she said.

Jansen said it is possible Invest in Kids donors may continue to give to the school in some capacity — but not to the extent they did with the tax credit.

"The tax incentive is huge, especially for people who have huge tax liabilities," she said.

Despite the program not being renewed, Jansen notes there was bipartisan support for it.

House Republican leader Tony McCombie, of Savanna, said she believes the program still has bipartisan support, and its backers will continue working to have it reinstated, Capitol News Illinois reported.

"It certainly will continue to be a priority of the caucus, and it certainly will be a priority of several of the Democrats in the House as well as, I believe, in the Senate," she said. "I don't think it's going to be something that they're going to want to just stop."

St. Anthony and Altamont Lutheran

St. Anthony Grade School and High School have also participated in the program since its inception.

Of the 439 students enrolled at the grade school and 215 at the high school, about 20% have received scholarships this year, according to Carrie Koenig, director of operations for St. Anthony of Padua Church and schools. She said the number receiving scholarships has been about the same every year.

Koenig said the parish is looking at ways to support those families with other potential scholarship options now that Invest in Kids is going away.

Altamont Lutheran Interparish School participated in the program for the first time this year. That's because the school just started promoting the program, thereby drawing donors and applicants, according to Principal Robinette Flach.

While only four of the school's 182 students benefit from the program, Flach believes that number would have grown if the program had been extended.

"We had really done a lot of publicizing about it and encouraging people to participate in it. And it was beginning to work. We had a handful of people that were using it and felt if we had another year or two more people in addition to the ones we had would continue to use it. Then more would sign on after hearing positive results from the initial few," she said.

With most of the students on full scholarships, Flach said the school does not currently have money set aside to help those families once the scholarships run out, but she assures them they will find a way. She acknowledged it's possible donors to the current program may continue to give to the school without the tax credit incentive.

"But I don't see where we would get the same amount of money that way," she said.

Outside Effingham County

St. Thomas School in Newton has been with the program since its inception. Currently, the school has five students receiving scholarships. Eight more students are on a waitlist as the number of students who receive scholarships is dependent on the number of donations to that school through the program. Donors designate which school they want to donate to.

With an enrollment of 1,990, Principal Jill Bierman admits the program doesn't have as much of an impact at her school as it does others. She said St. Thomas does have an assistance fund they have been building up, as well as some money from an endowment from the Springfield Diocese. However, Bierman noted the endowment fund can only be used to assist Catholic students with tuition.

Bierman said students on the scholarship were already attending the school and believes they will continue to regardless of the Invest in Kids program.

"It will affect my families because some of these families have been getting 100% of their tuition paid for the last several years. Will my families be able to handle it? Yes. If not, we'll be able to help them," said Bierman.

Having been a public school teacher for years, Bierman said the program has gotten unfair press from the teachers unions in the state, which opposed it. The state's largest union, the Illinois Education Association, called the program a "voucher scheme." They argued the tax credits took money out of state coffers that could have been used to support public schools.

"The union, they basically made it sound like ... it's just a bunch of kids who get better stuff because they get to go a private school. There's way more to it than that in a lot of situations. It's close to home. The religion is part of it. They want that religion for their kids," she said.

"There's nothing wrong with the public schools necessarily. These private school kids, it's still their home. This is still where all their friends are, and their families have worked hard to be here. So, it would be sad to have to move your kid.

"I talked to one mom from a different community. It makes the parents feel like they failed their kids because they can't afford to send them themselves."

Nick Niemerg, principal at St. Michael School in Sigel, said the school will not necessarily turn anyone away based on financial situations.

"We're trying to make it work for everybody," he said.

The school has 23 students who received scholarships this year, the most the school has had since the program started. Niemerg attributes that to better promotion of it.

All the families who applied received the scholarships and had children already attending the school. A majority received partial scholarships, with only five receiving full tuition aid.

Niemerg said the program expiring does put more pressure on the school, which has 189 students enrolled in K-8.

"We are going to have to be more creative and, yes, we're going to have to incur other costs if those families can't figure out a way to come up with their own tuition. So, it does put a burden," he said.

Springfield Diocese spokesperson Andrew Hansen said the diocese is working with schools and their principals and development directors on giving strategies.

"To our previous donors who gave via the Invest in Kids Act, we thank you for your support. We ask you and new donors to commit to supporting students living in your area so these students have access to an education that they know is best for them, which will allow them to thrive.

"The students and their future are worth it," he said.

Cathy Griffith can be reached at cathy.griffith@effinghamdailynews.com or 618-510-9180.

Capitol News Illinois contributed to this story.