Historical and Contemporary Analyses of the Financing of Lutheran and Catholic Education in Michigan's Saginaw Valley.

Although parochial schools educate over four million young Americans, there is little information regarding the funding of parish schools. The purpose of this study was to examine the financing of Lutheran and Catholic elementary schools in Michigan's Saginaw Valley and to suggest ways to improve their support. In addition to discussing financial issues, this study briefly explored the history of parish education in Michigan and the many reasons why parochial schools exist. Since the support of these institutions comes primarily from parents of parochial school children and from parishes which sponsor the schools, data were collected from these two sources in order to learn the attitudes of administrators and parents regarding the purpose of Christian education and ways in which parochial schools are financed. In all, seven schools, thirty administrators and seven hundred seventy-eight families participated. In addition to using description, survey research was integrated with an analysis of the existing parochial school literature. To display numerical results and test the substantive differences between Lutherans and Catholics, descriptive statistics and chi-square statistical analyses were employed. Among other results, it was found that there were many differences between Lutherans and Catholics regarding their reasons for operating parochial schools and how these institutions are financed. While both groups believed in Christian education, the Catholics appeared less motivated by religious values and more concerned about the rising cost of education. However, the study also revealed that while all users of Catholic schools were required to pay for their children's education, most users of Lutheran schools were not. Because of increasing educational costs, the study found that more and more parochial schools in Michigan were beginning to charge all patrons a minimum fee. Factors which account for student attrition in Catholic schools were discussed and financial problems were seen to be important. As a partial remedy to escalating costs, it was suggested that parochial schools appeal to all members of the parish for support and explore creative ways of funding including endowment planning.PhDEducation financeUniversity of Michiganhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/159811/1/8402356.pd