Three-year school plan is placed in action

No child has been turned away because parents could not afford tuition.
By TIM YOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
NILES -- Our Lady of Mount Carmel School will keep its doors open for the 2006-07 school year and is hoping to remain open at least for two years after that.
Father Larry Frient, church pastor, and Howard Mancini, school principal, said Wednesday that increased tuition, tuition subsidies and staff pay freezes are part of a three-year plan to stay open.
The school opened in 1949 and has been located on North Rhodes Avenue since 1957.
They said enrollment has been dropping for the past 10 years and there are now 118 pupils attending from pre-school through sixth grade.
"We're building from the ground up," Father Frient said of the effort. "It will take much hard work."
Father Frient said tuition will increase next year by $310 per pupil, from the current $1,650 to $1,960. Meanwhile, the staff of seven has agreed to freeze pay for three years.
Tuition assistance
Mancini said parents who need assistance to pay the tuition can seek it from the school's "angel fund" that has been in existence for 10 years. He explained that parents seek the assistance from him, and the fund's board of trustees makes the final determination.
No child has been turned down because the parents can't afford tuition, Mancini said.
Also, the Albert M. Covelli Foundation has been formed to help with tuition payment for any Catholic student in Trumbull County. Mancini said the foundation will pay the entire tuition if there is a financial need.
At Mount Carmel school, parents of 89 of 91 pupils in kindergarten through sixth grade have pre-registered their children for next year by paying a $300 registration fee.
Father Frient said that if enrollment drops below 100 pupils, "you're in trouble."
He pointed out that the school will definitely remain open next year, with the years after that depending on enrollment and revenue.
The pastor said parents are willing to give. "We do have a special message," he added.
Fund-raisers
Father Frient and Mancini said the school will also hold 12 fund-raising events during the next three years. These include selling memorial bricks, holding a golf outing and having parents volunteer to work the concession stand during bingo.
Also, students will pay $1 each on Fridays if they want to "dress down" rather than wear their school uniforms.
A meeting will be held at the school gymnasium at 7 tonight to discuss the fund-raisers and to begin organizing them.
The Catholic Diocese of Youngstown has set a limit of 43 percent of a parish's total operating revenue being used to support the school.
Father Frient said the school is currently using 47 percent of its revenue to support the school. The goal is to decrease the share to 39 percent next year and to 36 percent by the end of the three-year plan.
yovich@vindy.com