The Folly of Public/Parochial Comparisons

School Administrator, August, 1997 by Peter B. Holland

Editor's Note: The School Administrator invited two superintendents of Catholic diocesan schools who worked previously as public school superintendents to react to Peter Holland's discussion of the differences between public and parochial schools. Their commentaries follow.

Comparing public and Catholic schools is a pointless exercise since they operate under very different sets of constraints.

Some of these differences deserve to be examined in more detail. The governance structures of public and Catholic schools reflect their public and private natures. Public school boards typically meet every second week, and usually weekly during budget season. In most cases, this amounts to 20 to 25 meetings per year. Many Catholic school boards meet monthly and some, including those on which I have served, meet as few as three times a year. Superintendents know how much time it takes to prepare for, conduct, and then follow through on actions of board meetings. The difference in board time is substantial, and allows Catholic school administrators to spend more time with students, teachers, and parents.

Consensus Building

Catholic schools also enjoy greater consensus among students, teachers, and parents on the purposes of schooling and their vision and values. Since parents and students choose them, Catholic schools draw on a positive reservoir of student attitudes and commitment to the programs, and high levels of parental involvement.

Founded by religious orders or dioceses, Catholic schools transmit clear statements of purpose and guiding principles. If students and parents do not agree with the vision and values of a Catholic school, they are free to find another school that meets their needs. Likewise, Catholic schools do not have to serve all students in their catchment area even if they are Catholic. For administrators, Catholic schools provide more discretion in areas such as developing curriculum, hiring and retaining faculty, maintaining facilities, and managing finances.

Public schools, on the other hand, work hard to create such consensus on the purposes of the school, but the task is considerably more difficult because of the plurality of interests to be served and the requirement of open admissions. The multiple interests that public schools must serve include a broad spectrum of parental perspectives, the concerns of teacher unions, and a wide range of student skills and interests. The time and effort spent in creating a shared vision in public schools diverts administrators' energy away from a focus on an academic core curriculum.

The financing of public and Catholic schools is also quite different. For a public school superintendent, the budget process consumes the entire year. From preliminary planning in the spring to detailed forecasts and reviewing requests in the fall, the budget season typically reaches a crescendo from January through March with weekly board meetings. The school budget needs to pass review by the school board, the finance committee, the city council or board of selectmen and finally the town meeting or a comparable body.

Catholic schools are largely tuition-driven, which means that the principal and other administrators must recruit students, meet with parents, market the school, and explain its value to parents who pay for the service. While the budget process in Catholic schools is considerably more straightforward, the process of obtaining funding in Catholic schools is more market driven and the schools must satisfy the needs of consumers. Many Catholic schools regularly face an uncertain financial future, and this fact tends to reinforce their entrepreneurial spirit and their willingness to meet the needs of students and parents.

Admission Practices

Yet another major difference involves the selection and retention of students. The basis for the difference in admissions is that students have a constitutional right to attend public schools, but may attend Catholic and other private schools as a matter of contract law. This is a significant difference.

Although most Catholic schools are not selective and accept virtually all the students who apply, these schools nonetheless have the right to deny admission based on criteria and standards established in their handbooks. The fact that principals in Catholic schools have the authority to dismiss students, usually without board approval, serves as an important reinforcement for academic achievement and appropriate social behavior. Catholic schools dismiss relatively few students, but they can do this by following due process and their written procedures. There is no constitutional right to attend Catholic schools.

Unlike public schools, Catholic schools are not required to admit and provide programs for special needs or bilingual students. In some districts in Massachusetts, for example, up to 25 percent of the students are classified as special needs and a similar proportion of the local school budget is designated for special-needs programs.