Visitor Perspectives On Our Lady Of The Atonement's Financial Position

Reflecting on the news from Our Lady of the Atonement, I have a lot of questions, some of which aren't fully formed. Among other things, although the word "bankruptcy" has some up, we don't know if this is just a bluff as part of negotiations, whether it would be voluntary or involuntary, and many other contingencies, so I'm not inclined to press it without more input from knowledgeable parties. However, two visitors have added their perspectives. One says,

If you have not seen or have any interest in what real archdiocesan financial statements look like please see the links. I believe these are the most recent ones for the Archdiocese of Chicago.

This one is Chancery/Pastoral Center Operations.

I believe the Ordinariate has never published such items. I suspect their few parishes never have either. Solvency and transparency go hand in hand, as I am learning this week regarding my own world of prison educational programming.

I perused the materials from Atonement, they tell very little of the story. I would be interested in seeing an independent auditors report, which while intimidating has terrific value in planning and management.

It would be beneficial/interesting for them to publish solid enrollment numbers for each year they have operated. Details should include, retention rate, cost per pupil in each of the school "levels", graduation rate, ratio of new students to current students per year, demographics (inside/outside parish, ethnicity, and parishes they draw their students from). Growth/decline graphic.

With a parish that has admittedly aging facilities, I think that the "academy" expenses should probably take a back seat to building and maintenance issues. I would be interested in seeing what their administration salary expenses are. Unless they have 800 students, do they need 3 administrators?

Someplace there is a rubric the defines x% of parish income that goes to operating a school as healthy, concerning, unfeasible. If anything each diocese has something similar that they use to identify trends and sustainability.

One last thought. . . I'm struck by the tone-deafness of the following. . .

It is important for families to consider their level of giving. Like any other institution, the cost of “doing business” rises every year and we require sufficient financial resources to meet our obligations. As we are all creatures of habit, there is a tendency for parishioners to give the same periodic amount year after year. If the Lord has blessed you with a rise in salary/income, a portion of that could be provided to help support your parish.

We all have finite financial resources at our disposal. Like any family or institution as the cost increases there may be "lean times" when we have to cut back. Perhaps Atonement needs to admit they are in a lean time. Saying publicly that if you cannot meet your obligations and that others should cover your shortfalls is just selfish and self-centered. I fully understand that parishes encounter unexpected expenditures. In those cases soliciting funds to cover the costs is fully justified. But if you know you can't cover next years bills, you need to trim down your expenses.

Another visitor, this one familiar with the parish, took a closer look at the school:

I haven’t heard much as most of my “informants” have been lost to attrition. I did look at the faculty list and at the last five or six “Crusader Times” bulletins and just from that I can see it is pretty dire. Here are some things I noticed:

• The lower school classes have been halved in number (formerly there were two per grade through Fifth grade)
• The boys only/girls only classes format has been dropped
• The number of kids in some of the classes in the pictures look very small, only 16 children in Kinder and about 25 in Second grade
• The library expansion essentially took over the teachers’ office area, meaning they have moved somewhere else. This coupled with the article about the new Reading Rooms for students and Teachers means there must be quite a few empty classrooms.
• The $8900 needed to repair the air conditioning system for the non-classroom portion of the school is not in the operating budget and is not available in operating accounts indicating a pretty severe cash flow problem.

Is it bankrupt? Probably not but it is running very lean. It is a shadow of what it was and it may have to substantially reformat itself again(i.e. dump the high school) if it is to survive, but I think it is doable. It is just a shame they burned all their bridges with the Archdiocese.

What sticks out from these comments is a sense that there are normal professional practices followed in dioceses and Catholic schools, but people in responsible positions in both Houston and San Antonio either aren't aware of them or aren't expected to follow them.

Fr Perkins, as far as I can tell, was pulled out of Episcopalian parish ministry to take over as a vicar general in a Catholic diocese, as far as I can see with little or no experience in personnel or financial management.

Fr Lewis came from a medium size Episcopalian parish were he was coasting in matters like facility maintenance, but as far as I can see, he has no experience managing a school or, now, a major capital campaign.

Neither man seems to have learned much or risen to his new position. Both probably need to be replaced, but this doesn't address the general nonfeasance in Houston otherwise.

UPDATE: My regular correspondent comments,

Yes, there is a Finance Council. Its meetings are not reported on outside its membership. It is apparently preparing an official handbook on financial policies, but this has not yet appeared. Presumably the OCSP inherited debt contracted for by Fr Phillips, possibly without full disclosure to the OCSP of the parish’s exposure. But for the Archdiocese to force the parish into formal bankruptcy seems extreme.