Girl might not graduate

Demi Roden attends Central Christian Academy, where administrators say she is a straight-A student and where she could be valedictorian.

Roden spent most of her high school career at Pope John XXIII High School, but she had to switch schools to Central Christian this year after her mother and step-father lost their jobs due to economic downsizing and could no longer afford the nearly $10,000 annual tuition at the school.


http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=6811703

Wow, a show of the times!

The Admin should have released the records and filed suit against the parents for the debt owed. Good grief. C'mon man this child did not owe that debt.

Thank goodness for the donors that paid the debt so she can graduate. I'm just shaking my head this morning.

This makes me angry.

I am so happy that there were donors to help this girl along in her education. I hope too, she is able to go to college and flourish.

Do parochial schools receive money from the state per student like public schools do?

Boyz_Mum said:

I am so happy that there were donors to help this girl along in her education. I hope too, she is able to go to college and flourish.

Do parochial schools receive money from the state per student like public schools do?

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Interesting question Boyz_Mum. I think that they can request and recieve federal aid on secular purchases. I don't know about state aid, I also don't know if it would be dependent on which state. Food for thought.

This is one of the basics of how schools work. When going to a school, it is your responsibility to understand that. In general, colleges, universities, and private schools do not release things such as transcripts/diplomas etc until all bills/tuition/expenses etc are paid. Even high school students at public schools usually have to pay library fees, damaged book fees etc before they can get their transcript or diploma. This girl wasn't singled out. The family wasn't paying their debt and didn't find a way to do so.

RainbowsAndGumdrops said:

This is one of the basics of how schools work. When going to a school, it is your responsibility to understand that. In general, colleges, universities, and private schools do not release things such as transcripts/diplomas etc until all bills/tuition/expenses etc are paid. Even high school students at public schools usually have to pay library fees, damaged book fees etc before they can get their transcript or diploma. This girl wasn't singled out. The family wasn't paying their debt and didn't find a way to do so.

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Exactly! At first glance this story SEEMS to be outrageous *HOWEVER* the family had her in school for a full school year AFTER their job losses & paid NO tution for that FULL school year despite payment arrangements that they have made no effort to pay & then pulled her out & enrolled her in ANOTHER private school!!!! If they couldnt pay school #1 how are they paying school #2? What was wrong with public school? Theres wayyyyy more to this story,imo,especially if you read the local's comments after the story about how this kid (supposedly)wasnt such a great student while at the large Catholic school but at the much smaller school(graduating class is 19 students)is reportedly all 'A's'-Could the family have "school shopped"to try to belatedly help this student get into a better college?Youd be surprised how often thats happened & school rules(that families must read & sign in the handbook)like not releasing transcripts until all owed monies are paid in full are there to prevent this.

My Ex & I had our kids in Catholic School but with 4 kids,even with Diocese help,we couldnt afford it so we pulled the kids out (and yes we owed money)and put them in Public school.Catholic Schools are funded entirely by the Church,they get ZERO state funding as they are PRIVATE,other than State accreditation ,they are PRIVATE & relay on private funding.
Id love to have my kids but in Catholic or another private school but I cant afford it(I also dont want enough to expect strangers to pay for it).

I just dont think this story is as cut & dry as it reads at first glance........

I wouldn't read that much into some "local" comments since I don't know who they are or how they would know this kid's grades or behavior.

However, I've seen several cases at public schools where kids from larger schools who weren't at the top of the class come to our smaller school and end up high in class rankings.

Whatever her parents chose or decided to do, I wouldn't take it out on the kid.

According to the story, the parents owed the first school 2500. If a school year tuition is 10K, where are you getting that they had not paid an entire year? It looks like they still owed a quarter of the year, not the entire thing. And we have no idea what the cost of the second school or what the circumstances are. Some private schools offer economic help to students who need it, which, with parents out of work, this child would.

It seems really harsh, but it is really the only leverage they have. What possible motivation do the parents have to pay the school back if the girl is able to get her diploma? Do you think they are going to make the school a priority over their other bills, college, the new school? I doubt it.

It might sound like the school is making a ton of money, but typically Catholic schools are non-profit. My kids go to one, and there is no discount for multiple kids, teachers' kids, NOTHING. That is because they are trying to keep tuition as low as possible - in fact, it doesn't even cover all of the school's expenses. The rest comes from our Annual Appeal and our big Gala fundraiser that we hold every year.

And while I feel bad for this girl and her parents, the school probably would have been more lenient if they had made any effort to stick to the payment plan that was set up or tried to restructure it. $2500 might not sound like a lot, but it is an expense that would be passed along to all of the other parents who are sacrificing and working hard to send their own kids to that school. How is that fair?

A lawsuit is only going to cost the school and the family more money. How is suing them a better solution? That only costs everyone more money. The only people who win in that situation is a bunch of lawyers.