Frequently Asked Questions - Epiphany of the Lord Catholic School

11
What will families pay to send their
children to the school?
Epiphany will have similar tuition, costs and fees to other Catholic schools in
the archdiocese, where tuition averages around $8,000 per year.
12
EPIPHANY OF THE LORD
Who will be asked to participate in
the capital campaign?
Frequently Asked Questions
C AT H O L I C C O M M U N I T Y
Every parishioner in Epiphany will be invited to contribute to this
first phase of the parish master plan. We will also approach companies and
foundations for grant contributions.
13
How long will the campaign run and
when will it begin?
The campaign will run from November 2015 to May 2016.
The parish is currently putting together its campaign leadership team and
beginning the preparation phase of the campaign.
14
Will this campaign wipe out the
parish reserves and surplus?
There is no plan to use any of Epiphany’s current accounts
for the construction. The current year’s budget was constructed with the
administrative expense of the capital campaign in mind, and we do not intend
to spend any more than that. Epiphany parish should be able to successfully
raise the capital for this project with the three-year pledges of this campaign.
15
What can I/we do to help?
PRAY, VOLUNTEER, and GIVE. You are encouraged to be
generous in all three ways. In November, you will receive a personal
appeal letter and a campaign volunteer will contact you to personally deliver
a campaign booklet, answer your questions and invite you to participate in
the campaign with a gift. You will be asked to prayerfully consider making a
sacrificial and meaningful gift that can be paid over three years. Thank you for
making Epiphany your top charitable giving priority.
E P I P H A N Y O F T H E L O R D C AT H O L I C C O M M U N I T Y
1530 Norwalk Drive | Katy, Texas 77450 | 281-578-0707 | epiphanycatholic.org
Epiphany of the Lord is beginning
the planning stages of a capital
campaign to build a new Catholic
school, and expand and relocate
the outreach center. The parish
conducted a feasibility study
during the summer to determine
the success of a campaign.
Here are answers to the most
frequently asked campaign
questions raised during the
feasibility study.
1
Why is the school one of the first
projects the parish is addressing from
our master plan?
It fills a true need in the parish community, the need for Catholic education.
The school building project addresses a vital aspect of the Church’s teaching
ministry, a way to serve parishioners by offering a full faith-based education to
our children.
2
Are there other projects included
in this campaign?
YES. This campaign will raise funds to renovate and
relocate the outreach center and the St. Vincent de Paul Society to the front
of our parish campus. Here it will be more visible to our visiting neighbors in need
and will reflect the importance the parish places on its social ministry to the poor.
3
Why do we need a Catholic school
when we have such a good public school
system in Katy?
An Epiphany school would not try to replace or compete with the
wonderful public school system in Katy. The government recognizes its responsibility
to provide education to the community. The Catholic Church recognizes its
responsibility to educate children as well. To provide Catholic schools and faith
formation to teach and strengthen our faith, has always been a part
of our rich Catholic tradition. A Catholic school will teach Catholic
values, traditions and knowledge to the youth of our parish. Our school
will complement the public school system and provide parents with a
choice in educating their children.
5
The preliminary architectural study estimates it will cost around $12 million to build and equip a two-story school building and to make the needed
structural adjustments to the PAC and outreach center. The parish building committee will be working with the architects to continue to develop the school architectural
designs and the archdiocese will oversee the plans throughout the entire design and
construction process.
Will Child’s Play Continue?
7
YES. The parish is committed to early childhood education and plans
to make Child’s Play a part of the school’s program.
8
How will a new school
benefit the entire parish
community?
By offering families a choice to provide their children with a Catholic
education, we will build upon our Catholic foundation of faith and ensure a
strong and enduring Catholic identity in our community. That is the mission
that Jesus taught and commissioned to his church. A school will further foster a spirit
of community and enhance the vitality of our parish family. All this will continue to
attract younger members to our parish and encourage life-long participation in our
faith at Epiphany.
4
How much will this project cost?
6
Is there enough demand for a
Catholic school? How many families
are interested in sending their
children to the school?
We expect to always have a waiting list of applicants based on the responses in
our survey and the conversations we have had.
Can Epiphany support a Catholic
school? How will it be funded once
it’s built?
A parish of our size that is blessed with financial resources can
support a Catholic school. It will be funded by tuition primarily with
supplemental fundraising events. Similar schools in the archdiocese have
a separate annual budget from the parish annual budget.
9
When will we break ground and when
will the school open?
10
How many grades will be taught? How
many students will the school enroll?
The ground breaking will take place once the capital campaign is
completed and the archdiocese approves the construction design.
It will take between three to four years for the school to open. The parish building
committee is currently working with archdiocesan-approved architects to design the
school building. The building committee will also collaborate with the Archdiocesan
Catholic School Office to develop the curriculum.
The school will be pre-K through eighth grade. For the inaugural
year of school, we plan to begin with pre-K through third grade and
introduce additional grades each year following. When fully operational, Epiphany
would have around 550 students. In future years, a third floor of classrooms can
be added to the new school building to accommodate even more students.