As part of the partnership among the school, its students, and their parents, families of each St. Bernard's student pledge to spend thirty (30) hours in Parental Work Obligation during each school year. By volunteering in the classroom, chaperoning on field trips, or helping with school fundraisers, families get to know each other as well as the students. This helps foster a sense of community and encourages parents to get involved with their childrens' education. It also allows the school to provide activities for school families and sponsor fundraisers to help defer the school's operational costs.

Ten of the requred 30 hours must be served at the Fall Festival each September. This is one of our main fundraisers and has a long-standing tradition in our parish community as a fun-filled and profitable event. Each family is obligated to give 10 or more hours of service to the Fall Festival because it is so vital to St. Bernard's financial picture. Sign-ups for Fall Festival events are held in May at registration. Families who are new to St. Bernard's School after the May registration can stop by the school office for information about how to sign up to work at an event and meet their 10-hour obligation.

Parental Work Obligation hours are updated regularly and a report is sent home each quarter. Any family who is unable to meet the parental work obligation for the year will be assessed $50 for each hour short of the 30 hours.

All volunteers who work with St. Bernard's students must be fingerprinted and complete the on-line training course for the diocese.

Tuition

Tuition for the 2018-2019 school year will be $4,995 for active Catholics and $5,595 for non-active Catholics or non-Catholics. We offer sibling discounts for families enrolling 2 or more children, as well. If you pay tuition in July for the entire year, you'll receive a 3% discount. You can also pay in 2 yearly installments (July and December), or in 10 monthly installments during the school year. Tuition assistance is available through the TADS program. Contact the school office for details..

The actual cost to educate each student is higher than the tuition rates noted above. We are able to keep tuition costs down thanks to our families' fundraising efforts and support from St. Bernard's Parish..

Fundraisers and SCRIP

In order to keep tuition rates as low as possible, St. Bernard's Catholic school parents help earn money for the school by participating in the school's fundraising program. Profits from this program go toward classroom supplies, field trips, and special assemblies. This program includes annual fundraising events such as gift wrap sales, special dinners, a golf tournament, and a spell-a-thon. Families who participate in these events earn a percentage of their sales toward their annual profit requirement.

In addition to annual fundraising events, St. Bernard's Catholic School also coordinates an ongoing SCRIP program, which consists of gift cards purchased by the school at a discount and sold through the school office for a profit.

The family profit obligation can be derived entirely from participating in fundraising, entirely from purchasing SCRIP, or from a combination of the two. Families may also opt to buy out of their profit obligation for a fee at registration in May for the following school year.

Yearly (May 1- April 30) Profit Requirements per enrolled student are as follows:

• One Child: $500
• Two Children: $550
• Three Children: $600
• Four Children: $650

All SCRIP and fundraising profit must be completed by April 30 of the current school year. Any family who has not met their required obligation by April 30 will be assessed the difference between the buy-out option ($700) and the accumulated profit earned to that point. This amount will be due at the May registration and must be paid in order to re-register their child(ren) for the coming school year.

Through the strong participation in our SCRIP and fundraising program over the years, St. Bernard's parents have ensured that our goals for providing quality education to each student have continued to be met. For more information on SCRIP and Fundraising Profit, contact the school office.

Tuition Credit

Families who exceed their profit requirement can earn tuition credit: 50% of each dollar earned above the required minimum for their family will be credited toward tuition for the following year. Tuition credit vouchers are issued to each family for the following school year and are non-transferable.

Fifty-percent of each dollar earned above the required minimum for a family will be credited toward that family's tuition for the coming year. For example, a family with two children earning $600.00 in profit would have exceeded their profit requirement by $50.00:

Profit earned - Requirement = Excess
$600.00 - $550.00 = $50.00

This family would receive a credit of $25.00, which would be applied toward the tuition for the following year:

Excess X 50% = Tuition Credit
$50.00 X 50% = $25.00

Profit Requirement Buy-out

Families who prefer not to participate in either fundraisers or the SCRIP program may opt to buy out of their profit obligation registration in May. The buy-out cost is $700 and is due paid at registration in May.

Annual Parish Support

School families who are active parishioners of St. Bernard's Parish pay a reduced tutition rate for St. Bernard's Catholic School. In order to qualify for this reduction, school families are expected to support the Parish family at St. Bernard's Church by attending Mass and using their offering envelopes regularly. Families who do not fulfill this requirement will be considered non-active Catholics and will be assessed at a higher tuition rate.