Catholic Schools: Pennsylvania’s Greatest Bargain
As a CPA, former member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, and
someone who has spent a lifetime helping organizations understand the true cost of
decisions, I view Catholic schools through a practical lens: they are among our
Commonwealth’s best investments, one of its greatest bargains, and a magnificent gift
to taxpayers.
Pennsylvania’s Catholic elementary, middle, and high schools do far more than serve
Catholic families. They provide a substantial public benefit to every taxpayer in the
Commonwealth.
More than 140,000 students attend Catholic schools across Pennsylvania. A significant
number are not Catholic. Based on national enrollment patterns, roughly 27,000 to
31,000 students come from non-Catholic families who choose these schools because of
their academic quality, safety, discipline, values, and sense of community.
That matters because every child educated in a Catholic school is a child whose full
educational cost is not borne by local school districts, property taxpayers, or the
Pennsylvania Department of Education.
Parents who choose Catholic schools still pay the same taxes that support public
education. They then voluntarily pay tuition and other educational expenses to educate
their own children. In effect, these families pay twice.
Dioceses and parishes also willingly support Catholic schools in the spirit of love,
mutual respect and charity towards all of our students and families. A significant part of
the cost of education comes from donations at church to help cover the total cost to
educate.
The public receives the benefit.
If Pennsylvania’s 140,000 Catholic school students were educated in public schools, the
additional annual cost could reasonably exceed $3 billion. Using current per-pupil
spending estimates, Catholic schools provide an annual public benefit valued at
approximately $3.1 billion to $3.3 billion.
That is not a small number. It is a budget-crushing number. The Independent Fiscal
Office has repeatedly warned about Pennsylvania’s structural budget challenges.
Adding billions of dollars in new educational costs to state and local governments would
place enormous additional pressure on taxpayers and public finances.
Because Pennsylvania relies heavily on local funding for public education, much of that
cost would fall directly on school districts and property taxpayers. Catholic schools are
estimated to save local taxpayers roughly $1.6 billion to $1.7 billion annually. The state-
level impact could exceed $1.1 billion each year, before considering additional costs for
facilities, transportation, staffing, pensions, and special education services.
No estimate is perfect, and not every cost would appear immediately. But the direction
is unmistakable. If Catholic schools become financially unsustainable, Pennsylvania
would not simply lose a faith-based education option. State and local governments
would inherit a massive new financial obligation.
The consequences would be felt throughout the Commonwealth: crowded classrooms,
increased staffing demands, greater facility needs, higher transportation costs, and
growing pressure on already strained school budgets. Ultimately, much of that burden
would reach local property taxpayers.
Good public policy recognizes existing assets and builds upon them. Pennsylvania has
spent generations developing a diverse educational ecosystem that includes public
schools, charter schools, career and technical education, cyber schools, private
schools, and Catholic schools. The goal should not be protecting systems. The goal
should be helping every child succeed.
This is why the debate over Catholic schools and scholarship programs should not be
reduced to a discussion about private education. Catholic schools are an important part
of Pennsylvania’s educational infrastructure. They strengthen families, serve urban and
rural communities, and graduate students who become workers, taxpayers, volunteers,
military service members, business owners, teachers, healthcare professionals, clergy,
and public servants.
Pennsylvania needs strong public schools. It also needs strong Catholic schools. These
are not competing missions. They are complementary educational assets serving the
same objective: preparing children for productive and meaningful lives.
When families choose Catholic education, they are not abandoning their responsibility
to the Commonwealth. They are helping shoulder one of government’s most important
responsibilities while paying for much of it themselves.
Catholic schools are not merely a religious asset. They are an educational asset, an
economic asset, and a community asset.
As a CPA, I see the numbers. As a former legislator, I understand the budget
implications. As a citizen, I see the lives being changed.
Pennsylvania’s educational system should serve children and families first. Catholic
schools do exactly that.
Pennsylvania should recognize their value, strengthen their future, and treat them as
the public asset they have proven themselves to be.
Frank Ryan is a CPA, retired U.S. Marine Corps Colonel, former member of the
Pennsylvania House of Representatives, and former Chairman of the Pennsylvania
Public School Employees' Retirement System (PSERS).
