Down enrollment forces Wash. private school cuts

Private schools in Washington state are cutting spending to make up for dropping enrollment and more requests for financial aid.

The Washington Federation of Independent Schools says private school enrollment in the state is down by up to 15 percent for next fall.

The recession is hurting all kinds of schools, both private and public.

At St. Mary Magdalen School in Everett, for example, there are 10 fewer students enrolled for the coming year.

"I think we're typical Americans in the Seattle area and the Everett area," said Sister Joanne McCauley, principal of the 420-student school. "When Boeing is down, we're struggling a little bit. When Microsoft is being cautious ... we're cautious."

Private school leaders say things aren't as bad at schools in the Puget Sound area as they are in other parts of the country. They say parents are cutting back on vacations, cars and dinners out to keep their kids in private school.

The schools are cutting expenses like printing, postage and lunchroom costs, and some are freezing salaries.

"We're cautious and we're looking around frugally, but things are going to be fine," McCauley said.

Enrollment is down by about 5 percent at Cedar Park Christian Schools, which serve 2,000 students at six campuses in King and Snohomish counties.

Usually, when enrollment opens in February, there are people lined up at 4 a.m. waiting to register, Superintendent Clint Behrends said. This year, there was just one or two people. But Behrends said he thinks the recession has had less of an impact than it could have had.

"Quite honestly, the parents here are more concerned, probably than ever, just about what their kids are being taught - and that balances out and minimizes the effect on us," he said.

Some schools are keeping their enrollment up by offering more financial aid, which puts an additional strain on school finances.

Cedar Park is freezing teacher salaries for the first time in 15 years.

The Archdiocese of Seattle, which teaches 23,144 students in Western Washington Catholic schools, froze salaries for its school staff earlier this year.

Enrollment in most Catholic schools is still open and the archdiocese is not expecting a big enrollment drop, said Sandra Smith, assistant superintendent of curriculum.

"I don't want to declare it's perfect, but we're not seeing abnormal changes," she said. "Six months ago, all of us were worried about what was going to happen, but what we're seeing is communities are rallying."

One positive fallout from the recession is that teachers are interested in teaching at private schools.

Last spring, the archdiocese had 400 teachers apply for jobs. This year, there are 1,100 applicants, Smith said.

At Northshore Christian Academy in Everett, requests for financial aid are up by a third, but enrollment is growing, principal Holly Leach said.

"People have said they're kind of stepping out in faith," she said. "They know that people are getting laid off and companies are downsizing, so they are hoping that they can weather through the economy in order to afford private school."

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Information from: The Herald, http://www.heraldnet.com