Running Head: BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS FOR NDPMA 1

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Budget Recommendations for Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy
Corey S. Porterfield
EA 8840
Oakland University
April 2019
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Abstract
The purpose of this project is to make budget recommendations to the Head of School and Board

of Directors as part of the budget development process at Notre Dame Preparatory School and

Marist Academy. To maintain quality academic programs and services for students, it is very

important to make sure that a school or school district has a very robust budget that is capable of

covering all expenditures. Over the past few months, I had a chance to meet with professionals in

the business office, auxiliary staff, and other pertintnent departments to discuss the budget

development process at Notre Dame. Information from these discussions have been analyzed and

has guided me to give budget recommendations to Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist

Academy for the 2019-20 school year.

Keywords: budget, recommendation, school

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Memorandum

To: Mr. Andrew Guest, Head of School

From: Mr. Corey Porterfield

Date: April 23, 2019

RE: 2019-20 Budget Recommendations

Dear Mr. Guest, as we move closer to the end of another successful school year, we reflect on

things that went well this school year and things that we need to improve. One of my

responsibilities of being in the Education Specialist in Leadership program at Oakland University

was to take a school finance class. In this class I studied financial and business operation of

school systems, external and local funding sources, resource allocation, school budget

management, and operation of auxiliary school operations including facilities, transportation, and

food service. Throughout the semester I met with various school personnel that included, and not

limited, to people in the technology department and in the business office. We discussed how the

budget is created, some of their concerns, and the connection to strategic plan. After meeting

with several stakeholders in our community, I have made a few budget recommendations that

may be beneficial for the growth and progress towards Notre Dame’s school mission, “With

God, we form Christian People, Upright Citizens, and Academic Scholars.” Please take a

moment to read through the recommendations and I’ll be happy to sit down and discuss in

further detail at your request.

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Every successful business has a clear vision, goals and objectives, and financially

prepared. These things apply to all businesses including schools, public and private. After

Proposal A, Michigan’s public schools have become a highly competitive environment. Many

districts are losing enrollment because of demographic changes in communities and from the

increased educational options for students such as open enrollment, charter schools, private

schools, and home schooling. To stay competitive, many schools must manage a variety of

ancillary services, academic programs, school personnel, and much more. These things must be

considered along with the school’s top priorities and mission and goals through the entire budget

development process. In this paper, I plan to make recommendations to the Head of School and

Board of Directors at Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy on how to maintain

the programs and services for students while maintaining the financial constraints presented in

our current funding climate.

To begin, Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy (NDPMA), located in

Pontiac, Michigan, is an independent Catholic, co-educational day school, which includes three

divisions: Lower (JK-5), Middle (6-8), and Upper (9-12). NDPMA was founded by the Marist

Priests and Brothers in 1994. Having experienced remarkable growth over 24 years of its

existence, the school today serves more than 1,050 students. NDPMA has a comprehensive

academic program and was named the top Catholic school three times out of the last four years

in the State of Michigan according to Niche, a national organization that annually ranks colleges

and K-12 schools across the country. NDPMA takes pride in being the first Catholic school in

the United States authorized as a World School offering the Diploma, Middle Years, and Primary

Years Programmes.
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Recommendation 1: Budget Transparency

Over the past 24 years, Notre Dame’s revenue has been solely dependent on tuition and

donations collected from the Advancement office from various donors who include alumni,

current families, faculty and staff, and other community members. To maintain a competitive

academic program, a highly qualified faculty and staff, and successful axillary services, a healthy

budget is a must. Currently, the budget development process at NDPMA consist of the chief

financial officer, the head of school, key department heads, and the board of directors. The

budget is planned, drafted, created, and approved by these people. There are not any open

meetings held discuss the budget, the school priorities, or plans for the upcoming years. I

recommend that the budget development process become more transparent.

Budget transparency has many benefits for an organization, public or private. Budget

transparency and oversight over how resources are allocated and spent are powerful deterrents

for leaders to misuse or misappropriate funds since their actions will be monitored. When

budgets are open to the public and effective examination, there is less room for deviation from

policy decisions and reversal of budget allocations. Transparency informs all stakeholders and

provides them an opportunity to provide feedback on the quality and adequacy of services that

are provided.

Since Notre Dame is a private, independent school it does not have to follow the same

budget transparency rules as public schools. NDPMA does not publish school budget reports or

have open board meetings to discuss budget items or any other financial documents for the

school. Many stakeholders in the community feel that communication is lacking and that they are

not informed of the priorities for the school. If NDPMA was transparent about the school budget,

it would greatly benefit the school in many areas.

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Every year tuition increases by three to five percent at Notre Dame. For example, in the

Upper Division, tuition for the 2018-19 school year is $15,708 and for the 2019-20 school year

tuition increased to $16,451. In talking with the chief financial officer at Notre Dame, he

indicated that you consider the tuition as a per pupil expenditure, the tuition barely covers the

costs of what it truly costs to education a student at NDPMA. With the IB program, a wide

variety of course offerings, student activities and clubs, athletics and more, the tuition cost will

not cover it alone. Notre Dame depends on the advancement office to get donations from donors

each year to help bridge that gap. With any price increase, the parent community is often not

happy with paying more money each year. Many families question the purpose of the increase

and do not know where to turn to find answers. A budget that is transparent and open board

meetings will inform parents of how their tuition dollars are being spent at the school. Parents

would better understand the school priorities and see firsthand that tuition is increasing each year

to support the academic program and services for their student(s).

Recommendation 2: Redesign of Tuition Calendar

Currently, Notre Dame has a 12-month tuition calendar that begins in February and ends

in January of each year. This tuition calendar was created to give families an affordable option to

pay for tuition over 12 monthly payments. For example, for the 2019-20 school year, families

would make their first payment for the Upper Division of $1,375 in February 2019, and final

payment in January 2020. This tuition calendar starts relatively early to start collecting tuition

and fees for the upcoming school year. Many families find it difficult to start paying for tuition in

February for an upcoming school year because they may be paying for tuition at another school

until May of that school year. This will cause families to make two tuition payments from

February thru May, which can be financially demanding on an incoming family. Some families
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choose to register their student in June after they finish paying tuition at their current school.

This is troublesome for a family because they must make payments from February through June

in order to register their student, which is $6,875. This will have to be paid as one payment or a

payment plan will be drafted to get the family caught up to the regular tuition schedule as soon as

possible.

To alleviate some of the financial pressures on prospective families, I recommend that the

tuition calendar be changed to June through May of each year. Notre Dame can require families

to pay a non-refundable deposit of $500 to secure their spot for the upcoming school year, but

tuition payments will not start until June. This will allow prospective families finish up making

payments at their current school for the remainder of the school year and will allow Notre Dame

to properly plan for their enrollment numbers for the upcoming school year.

Recommendation 3: Billing for Building Bridges Scholarship Students

One of Notre Dame’s shining programs is the Building Bridges Scholarship program.

The Building Bridges/Notre Dame partnership began as the brainchild of a Notre Dame High

School alumnus, Paul Housey. Mr. Housey and NDPMA founder Fr. Leon Olszamowski, s.m.,

in conjunction with the leadership at Notre Dame, came together with the goal of providing a

life-changing Notre Dame education to highly motivated students from families in need of

tuition assistance. Motivated by their memories of classmates and students having to leave Notre

Dame for financial reasons, the group dedicated itself to providing opportunities to students of

limited means in Pontiac. The Building Bridges organization agrees to pay for 50% of tuition for

students in this scholarship program and Notre Dame will pay the remaining 50% tuition through

their financial aid dollars. This only leaves the material and fees for each student to pay, which is
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roughly $1,200. These payments are spread over 12 months, which will require students in the

Building Bridges program to pay $100 a month for tuition at Notre Dame.

Many may say that this is a huge savings for families in this program, but this is still

difficult for some families to pay on time each month. These are families that qualify for this

program based upon their nominal yearly income. Currently there are 42 students in the Building

Bridges program. At times, many families struggle to make payments on time. Notre Dame

charges all families, including Building Bridges families, a $50 late fee for all payments not paid

on time. This is a 50% late fee for families in the Building Bridges program and not equal to the

late fee for all other families, which is less than a 3.5% late fee. The late fee should be a

percentage instead of a flat fee to be equal and fair for all families. The late fee for all families at

Notre Dame should be 3.5% instead of the $50 fee. May families in the Building Bridges

program has upward of $200 in late fees and feel that they can never get ahead on their

statement. If their account is behind, late fees continue to accumulate because their account is not

current. The 3.5% late fee on a bill that is $100 for the month will be $3.75, this will allow for

more families to stay current on their bills and be an indication that Notre Dame is supporting the

Building Bridges program with equality and equity from all stakeholders at the school.

To conclude, Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy is a young school that

has made tremendous growth and academic gains over the past 24 years. To continue its goal to

create a safe and nurturing environment where students can become the best versions of

themselves both academically and spiritually, Notre Dame needs to consider the following

recommendations. First, Notre Dame will benefit from a budget planning process that is

transparent. Informing all stakeholders of the budget, expenditures, and how tuition and donated

dollars are being spent will go along way. Families will be more receptive for tuition increases
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and willing to donate to the Annual Fund. Faculty and staff will be informed on what the school

priorities are and how the school is moving forward towards the vision and goals. Second, the

tuition calendar needs to be revised to reflect 12 monthly payments made from June to May of

each year. This will greatly benefit new families that are starting at Notre Dame each year. The

current calendar starts in February and ends in January of each year. This demands families to

pay two tuition payments at schools if their student is currently attending day care or another

private school. This allows new families to have a positive experience of joining the Notre Dame

community and not feel they are paying tuition for a school 7 months before their student steps

foot into the school. Lastly, the late fee cost structure should be changed to 3.5% compared to its

current $50 flat fee. The $50 late fee is not equitable for student in the Building Bridges

program. These students current monthly bill is $100 to cover technology and academic fees.

Having a $50 late fee on $100 is 50% of that bill. This is not equal to the late fee for families

paying full price tuition of $1,375 a month. The $50 late fee is less than 4% of their monthly

tuition fee. Creating a percentage based late fee will make this more equitable and equal for all

families in the school. If Notre Dame considers these recommendations, they will continue create

an environment where all students can be the best versions of themselves academically and

spiritually.
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References

Johnson, K. A., & Moser, E. H. (2002). The six habits of fiscally responsible public school districts[A

Mackinac Center Report]. Retrieved from http://www.mackinac.org/archives/2002/s2002-06.pdf.