PO Box 13285 Austin, TX 78711 1600 N. Congress Ave., Suite B (512) 339-8416 Fax: (512) 339-8670 www.txcatholic.

org SUPERINTENDENTS OF TEXAS CATHOLIC DIOCESESSr. Kevina Keating, CCVIARCHDIOCESE OF GALVESTON-HOUSTONMs. Patricia DavisARCHDIOCESE OF SA N ANTONIORev. Robert BuschDIOCESE OF AMARILLODr. Ned VandersDIOCESE OF AUSTINMs. Marcia StevensDIOCESE OF BEAUMONTMrs. Lisette AllenDIOCESE OF BROWNSVILLEMr. Re n GonzalezDIOCESE OF CORPUS CHRISTISr. Gloria Cain, SSNDDIOCESE OF DALLASSr. Eliz abeth Anne Swartz, SSNDDIOCESE OF EL PASODIOCESE OF SAN ANGELOMr. Don MillerDIOC ESE OF FOR WORTHDr. Rosa Maria R. VidaDIOCESE OF LAREDOMrs. Christine WanjuraDIO CESE OF LUBBOCKDr. James KlassenDIOCESE OF TYLERMr. John QuaryDIOCESE OF VICTORI AMargaret McGettric DIRECTOR OF EDUCATIONMarch 22, 2012Edd Burleson, DirectorTex as Association of Private and Parochial Schools601 MainP.O. Box1039Salado, TX 76 571Mr. Burleson,I am writing to you at the direction of the 14 Catholic school s uperintendents of Texas and as Education Director of the Texas Catholic Conferen ce EducationDepartment. As you now the 43 Catholic high schools in the State co mprisealmost 20 percent of your organizations current member schools.The purpose of this letter is to raise concerns about two recent incidentsinvolving TAPPS. T he first occurred in January, 2010, when the Catholicschool superintendents requ ested a meeting with you to discuss our concernsover the rejection of two Muslim schools by your organization. Your responseseemed to indicate that the rejectio n was primarily based upon the lac of comparable, competitive programming in th e two schools in question. Whilethe superintendents remained uncomfortable with some of your responses to thesituation, their consensus, at that time, was to gi ve TAPPS the benefit of thedoubt and move forward.The second incident is the rec ent situation with Beren Academy from HoustonandTAPPSunwillingness to accommodate a member schools religiousconscience to eep the Lords commandment to observe the Sabbath.The factthat it too filing a lawsuit and the relative ease with which t he scheduling wassolved strongly reinforces the concerns of the Texas Catholic C onferenceEducation Department and the Catholic school superintendents with thest ructure, policy and apparently insensitive attitude of TAPPS. In addition,recent allegations appear to indicate that the rejection of the Muslim schoolsmay have had more to do with a bias against the faith traditions of those schoolsthan th e extent and sophistication of their athletic and extra-curricular programs,as y ou had indicated to us. The stance of your organization in both of theseinstance s strongly suggests that the philosophy and approach of TAPPS is notconsistent w ith the tenets of our faith. Our response to the Gospel requires us torespect ot hers and live a true sense of fair play. These actions, simply put, arenot accep table to us as Catholic Christian institutions. PO Box 13285 Austin, TX 78711 1600 N. Congress Ave., Suite B (512) 339-8416 Fax: (512) 339-8670 www.txcatholic.org Accordingly, we are calling for the formation of a me mbers committee to underta e a comprehensivereview of the TAPPS governance and operational structure. The purpose of the review would be to allowinstitutional members to evaluate TAPPS current governance structure, the policies and proce dures fororganizational decision ma ing, and whether there are appropriate accou ntability controls. Membership of the review committee should be broadly represe ntative of TAPPS denominational, institutional, andgeographic diversity, to ensu re that the issues and concerns of all members are accounted for and addressed.T he members review committee should then report its findings and offer its recom mendations forimproving the operations and oversight of the association.Failure to sufficiently improve the structure and management of TAPPS will require a reexamination of our43 Catholic schools continued affiliation with TAPPS and inst ead see other alternative options that arebetter aligned with our Catholic beli efs and convictions.We are respectful of the years of service and opportunities that your organization has provided to theCatholic schools of the State of Texas . Nevertheless, TAPPSrecent actions cannot continue and they willnot be tacitly a ccepted. Please wor with us and your other member schools who share our views t o renewboth a respectful and competitive environment in which all schools of fai th and conviction may thrive. Weloo forward to your response.Respectfully Submi tted,Margaret McGettric Education DirectorTexas Catholic Conference Education D epartment