financial documents

As we continue to receive questions from our community regarding our request for financial information via FACTS, we want to again share the reasoning behind the request and the process. 

In recent months, as the finance committee and board of directors has looked at how tuition is set at St. Mary’s, they found that the school has not traditionally had financial information about its community that would allow the committee and the board to make informed decisions. 

The committee and board need financial data on our community in order to make the best financial decisions for both the school and our St. Mary’s families. As a college preparatory school, the finance committee decided to take a college approach to this issue and ask for families to share their financial information, specifically tax returns, so the committee and the board have a better understanding of the financial picture for our school and its community. 

This information will allow the committee and board not only to make informed decisions, but also to be responsible stewards of the school’s finances. The information will assist in both setting tuition rates in a fair and equitable way as well as help in disturbing tuition assistance to families who most need it. 

Filling out the FACTS forms and submitting financial information is voluntary for families not seeking tuition assistance. (As has always been our process, the information is required for those seeing tuition assistance.) However to show our appreciation for families who choose to share their data with us, we are offering a $1,000 tuition credit per student for the 2022-2023 school year. The board has set tuition for the upcoming year at $11,900, so a $1,000 credit will keep tuition at $10,900, which means no tuition increase for the coming year for families who participate. 

Families who do not wish to request additional financial aid need only to submit their tax and income data via FACTS to secure the $10,900 tuition for 2022-2023.  All other data is voluntary for those not requesting additional aid.  If that is your circumstance, simply enter a “0” in the remaining information blocks.

The finance committee is currently evaluating the disparity between the cost to educate a St. Mary’s student and the tuition paid by each family. Currently, tuition covers only 75% of the cost to educate. Year after year, St. Mary’s remains one of the most affordable private high schools in Colorado. Ranking in the top 15 private schools in the state, St. Mary’s tuition is almost half of what the other top schools charge. 

This data collected will only be used by the school's finance & facilities committee and the tuition assistance committee to help make determinations about tuition and financial aid. The information will not be shared outside of those St. Mary’s High School committees.  The FACTS platform gives assurances that our data, and the data of their 11,500 partner schools, is securely held.

Finally, this data can also be of great help as we seek government and foundation grants. If St. Mary's  had gathered this same data during re-enrollment for the current academic year, the school may have been eligible for an additional $400,000 in federal funding for 2022-2023.  Since we do not have the data, we are not eligible for that grant.

We appreciate your assistance as we look at ways to best serve our students and our community. If you have any questions, please contact Deacon Rob Rysavy, president of St. Mary’s, at rrysavy@smhscs.org.