Family FAQ
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FAQ 2
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Tithing is not part of the financial equation for preschool, we do ask that in general you tithe per your financial means. No, scholarships will not be available to preschool families at this time.
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Q. If we have 1 child in K-8, but have additional kids in Pre-K, I just wanted to verify that based on all of the paperwork that was attached, preschool students shall not be included and the number of students we will have is 1 in regards to the family contribution amount?
A. That is correct. Family suggested voluntary contribution is only based on K-8.
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No, daycare and preschool fees will be determined by Scott County Catholic Schools. Please send any tuition questions to the SCCS office: [email protected].
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You can send an email to Nick Steinke, OLOL/SJA Accounting Dept at [email protected] and he will forward the scholarship packet.
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An application must be filled out and submitted by the parent. Once received, a small committee, including the priests, will review the applications confidentially. There are certain criteria established to determine the eligibility status: Income, tithing, participation in your church community etc.
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Our intention is to review applications on a frequent rolling basis, however, since this is a new process, we may have some time delays.
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We believe that you should move forward in completing the enrollment process, specifically because this year the financial contributions are NOT mandatory, but voluntary suggested. However, we do ask every family to participate according to their financial means.
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Please refer to the SCCS letter that was distributed in January 2025 or email the SCCS staff at: [email protected]
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Yes. Any amount equal to or above the required $1300 will be appreciated
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The following example applies ONLY to the SJA financial contributions and does NOT include tuition and fees established by Scott County Catholic Schools.
$ 1,300 Tithing minimum contribution
$ 1,950 Student One
$ 1,950 Student Two
$ 5,200….........TOTAL Suggested Contribution For Two Students. Please refer to 01/22/2025 email for cost per student
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Ideally, we would ask that you honor your pledge, as that is a 3 year commitment, which should be fulfilled by 2026, as well as we would ask you to pay the family contribution. If both cannot be completed, we would request that you fulfill your pledge and submit a request for scholarship.
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Yes, currently both OLOL and SJV continue to financially support SJA; even more so now, as in addition to the financial subsidy, we also have a new Catholic school that we continue to support. We are grateful that our parents have access to ESA, through the state of Iowa, that can be applied to their child's Catholic education. However, as we had mentioned in the previous FAQ, the cost to educate a child can currently cost upwards of approximately $10,000. Catholic Schools historically have never been fully funded by tuition. Unfortunately, Parishes cannot afford to operate under that same methodology as in years past.
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There remains a gap between the cost to construct the new school building and the amount that has been fundraised. The parishes and school families are sharing in that responsibility.
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The tithing money is applied to your parish, if you belong to OLOL or SJV, for nonparishioners, as well as the additional voluntary suggested contributions, those funds will go to the SJA Foundation, but will ultimately be used for paying down the SJA loan.
No, because of the contractual language of our bank mortgage, individuals cannot designate that their fees be applied to the principal. We can apply funds towards the principal once we have reached our mortgage threshold.
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No, for this year, these fees are not mandatory, however, we again ask that you strongly consider paying according to your financial means.
On an annual basis, we will evaluate the ability to meet our mortgage requirements and will determine if the financial contribution remains voluntary suggested or becomes mandated.
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No, facility fees in general may qualify for the Iowa Tuition Credit, however since the payment for loan fees is non-mandatory the fee will not qualify for the Iowa Tuition Credit.
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Please contact the following:
1. Tuition: SCCS Office: [email protected].
2. Registration/Admissions/Academics/ Tours: Mrs. Selden: [email protected] or 563-359-3466
3. St Joan of Arc: Financial Contributions: [email protected];
Scholarships: [email protected]
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No. Our initial fundraising campaign raised approximately $18M. The projected total cost of the school is approximately $34M. The original projected cost of the school was over $40.0M. Through some outstanding work done by volunteers from St. John Vianney (SJV) and Our Lady of Lourdes (OLOL) parishes as well as Russell Construction and other vendors/suppliers, we have realized significant cost savings to date.
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Yes. The parishes will have a mortgage for SJA school with Blackhawk Bank, and will be making monthly payments. Committees from OLOL and SJV will continue to work diligently to decrease project costs and increase fundraising to reduce this loan as much as possible.
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A loan committee was established to procure the funds needed to complete the project. The group determined that a municipal conduit bonding process would be the best loan structure in order to get the lowest interest rate (due to tax exempt status the bonding process would allow). A Request for Proposal was completed. These proposals were received, and interviews with four banks occurred. This resulted in a loan with Blackhawk Bank, who agreed to fully fund the project. The agreement allows for pre-payment without penalty. This is important as we continue the fund raising campaign. If we are able to shorten the loan payback period, we can significantly reduce the total cost of the loan.
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First, parish leadership along with the pastors negotiated a subsidy reduction as well as a building lease payment per student with Scott County Catholic Schools (SCCS) that can be used for capital improvements and debt reduction. Both parishes will be providing as much additional financial support as possible with annual appeals, planned giving, fundraising events, etc. (It’s important to note both parishes need to continue to meet their operating budgets before any additional parish funds can be allocated to the debt of SJA school). Second, all families of SJA students, parish and non-parish, will be required to commit to a tithing agreement that includes necessary contributions to ensure a parish subsidized tuition rate, and to voluntarily contribute to help service SJA debt. Fr. Jason and Fr. Rich have reduced the required weekly tithing subsidy amount for school families from $45 to $25 per week ($1,300 per year), saving families over $1,000 per year.
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Contributions will be used primarily for paying back the loan for SJA school as well as other capital improvements, infrastructure updates, maintenance and repair, security and technology updates, and any other costs not funded by SCCS.
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Tuition for the 2024-2025 school year is $4,600 for one student, with small reductions for additional students. Tuition for SCCS for the 2025 – 2026 school year will start at $7,135. The per student requested contribution for the 2025 – 2026 school year will start at $2,250 for the first student, with a $300 deduction per student after the first. The suggested contribution is capped at $5,400 for families with 4 or more students. There is also a requested contribution option based on gross income per family.
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No. We are grateful for the contributions from all of the families who have supported the campaign. The initial donations to the SJA Foundation for the school were part of the initial One Faith, One Family, One Future campaign. Those contributions along with the incredible generosity of so many, have gotten us off to a great start in building our new Catholic school in Bettendorf. The reality is, we will have a $20M mortgage to pay off. Therefore, contributions already made to the campaign will not exempt any school family from the annual contribution.
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No. ESA’s must be used only for tuition and educational expenses outlined by the State of Iowa.
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We hope so, however for purposes of budgeting and projecting, we are estimating the school will be at 85% capacity, or 383 students. The current maximum number of K-8 students who can attend SJA school is 450.
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The pastors along with the SJA finance council will closely monitor the school’s financial position annually, and will regularly review tithing agreements along with all other funding for SJA school. The faster we are able to pay off the school debt, the more money the parishes will save by shortening the term of the loan.
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Fr. Jason and Fr. Rich want to be clear that the current recommended family contributions may become mandatory if this yearly goal is not met.
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Please consult your tax advisor. Families may also be eligible for the Iowa Tuition Tax Credit, and may receive up to a $500 tax credit per child per year. Again, please confirm with your tax advisor.
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No. Currently, the cost to educate a student is just over $10,000, with tuition at just over $7,100. This results in a shortfall, and the required school family tithing agreement provides some of the funds needed to help make up this difference.
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The majority of these funds will be used to pay down loan principal. Parish leadership recommends allocating 10% - 20% of all excess funds to an emergency fund for future unexpected expenses and/or additional financial needs.
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