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If every board meeting focused on God, success would follow. Every Muslim, Jewish, and Christian school exists to serve God. When God is served, the school is blessed with peace, unity, and a sense of fulfillment. A collateral or coincidental benefit is an increase in clients, volunteers, collaborations, and donations. [...]  Fundraising events are a waste of time, effort, and annoy people. If that were true, why would you hold one? The common answer is because we need the money. Are you raising enough money to justify the time, effort, and ill will? [...] Without regard for how hard or easy it might be, it is the job of the board and administration to recruit and retrain students. It is certainly true that a strong economy makes recruiting students easier. It is equally true that a weak economy makes recruiting students difficult. [...] Most Christian schools, Catholic schools, and other parochial schools have a few families that are slow making their tuition payments. In a down economy, there are a few more than usual. At the same time, enrollment is down for many schools so it is hard to expel a student or keep them from enrolling next year. Some money is better than no money. [...] How can any congregation afford a school? In most circumstances, the short answer is that it can’t. In most states, the cost of running a public school increases about 7% per year. The parents at a private or parochial school can afford a 3% tuition increase because their income raises approximately the same rate as inflation. Where is the other 4% going to come from? [...] Does it strike you as odd that public school and private school students both have the same reaction to waking up and going to school each day? Both groups of students would rather do just about anything other than go to school? Why isn’t a private school or Christian school different? [...] Often one assumes families send their children to a Christian school because they care about religious education. That is true. However, all of the families who are passionate about that currently have their children enrolled. Those whose children are attending public schools are looking for more value. [...] Is it impossible to know what a congregation expects from its school? A congregation is a diverse group. They all agree that the school must be a ministry. Most of us would agree that ministry is outward looking and involves spiritual development for all of the participants. [...] Does my spiritual development depend on knowing whether Moses or Habakkuk came first? It is good to know the books of the Bible and their order. That makes it easy for me to look up a passage. However, does it make me want to use the Bible as a reference for my life? [...] That question has five different answers. Can your school say yes to all five? If answering “yes” to any one of the questions was a crime, is there enough evidence to convict your school of the crime? [...] |
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