More Doublespeak From Buffalo Rd.

One of the great benefits we were told would come from the closure of 13 Monroe County Catholic schools and the accompanying drop in tuition at the remaining 11 would be to make Catholic education a more affordable option for our families.

Clark said that ... lowering tuition to make a Catholic education more affordable was imperative. (Erica Bryant, "As Bishop Announces Closures, Catholic High Schools Plan to Expand", D&C, January 19, 2008)

Bishop Matthew Clark in January announced plans to close 13 Catholic schools, saying the cost-cutting move would allow the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester to lower typical tuition at its Monroe County schools from ... to make it affordable for more families. (Erica Bryant, "Hefty re-enrollments fill Catholic schools", D&C, March 26, 2008).

This lower [tuition] rate will make a Catholic education more affordable for more people, thereby increasing enrollment and further strengthening our remaining schools. (Bishop Clark, Letter to Catholic School Parents/Guardians, January 18, 2008).

The lower tuition rate is expected to stem the decline in enrollment and make a Catholic education more affordable to more families. (Catholic Schools Q&A, DOR web site)

The much lower tuition rate will greatly increase the ability of families to afford a Catholic education at our schools and is intended to draw new families to them. (Restructuring initiative addresses critical financial issues facing Catholic Schools; tuition rate to drop 27%, DOR web site, January 18, 2008)

Not so!

What the Bishop and the diocese somehow failed to mention was that along with the decrease in tuition would also come a decrease in available financial aid. For many families the net effect is an increase in their overall tuition bill.

Only in DOR would higher out-of-pocket expense be called "more affordable."

George Orwell is alive and well and doing PR work for DOR.

See the story in today's D&C.

Update: Channel 10 News has posted a similar story.

One mother with 2 children in the MCCS System is quoted as saying, "I had averaged over the past several years approximately $2,500 to $3,000 in Diocese financial aid per year. And this year I'm receiving $500."