Tuition and Fees
Thanks to the generosity of our Parish and robust fundraising by the Parents Association, the School of St. Mary is able to keep tuition at a competitive price.
The Parish Business Office utilizes the FACTS tuition management system to invoice and collect tuition and fees. If you have any questions or concerns regarding your school invoice, please contact Cindy Luetje, Tuition, and Fee Coordinator, at the Parish Business Office: (847) 582-2505 or
cluetje@churchofstmary.org.
APPLICATION FEE FOR NEW FAMILIES
- New student applications are accepted throughout the year, depending on class availability.
- If you are enrolling your family for the first time at the School of St. Mary, the Application Fee for each new family is $325, regardless of the number of children. This is a non-refundable fee.
RE-ENROLLMENT FEE FOR CURRENT FAMILIES
- The online Re-Enrollment Application and a non-refundable $225 returning family fee are due March 1
- The Business Office will send an electronic invoice for the $225 re-enrollment fee. Kindly pay this invoice prior to March 1
- If you are enrolling a sibling of a current student, there is no additional Application Fee.
COMPREHENSIVE FEES
- The Parish Business Office will invoice all families for comprehensive fees on or around March 1.
- All comprehensive fees are due April 1.
- Comprehensive fees are non-refundable.
TUITION PAYMENT PLANS
The Parish Business Office will invoice all families for ten equal tuition payments: Due by the 1st of the month, according to the following schedule:
- July 1
- August 1
- September 1
- October 1
- November 1
- December 1
- January 1
- February 1
- March 1
- April 1 (final payment)
Families may also choose to pay in full with one payment: Due by July 1.
PAYMENT METHODS
All payments for tuition and fees will be billed through FACTS, an independent company that supports private school enrollment and billing systems. They accept:
- ACH
- Credit Card: American Express, Visa, MasterCard, and Discover.
- All credit card payments incur a processing fee of 2.85% of the total transaction cost per transaction
EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITY CHARGES
School based or sponsored extracurricular activities will be billed through FACTS. Extracurricular activities that are provided by outside vendors may bill families independently. Families who are not current with tuition payments may not register for extracurricular activities.
TUITION AND FEE DELINQUENCY
All families are responsible for fulfilling their tuition obligations to the School of St. Mary on a timely basis. Should you have difficulty meeting tuition payments, it is your responsibility to notify the Parish Business Office in order to make special arrangements and adjustments to your tuition plan.
Payment is due on the date specified in the Payment Schedule. If you choose to delay payment beyond the payment scheduled date, you are also choosing to interrupt your child/children's attendance at school. You are also choosing to interrupt your child/children's participation in athletic and extracurricular activities.
Accounts must be current by the following dates:
- August 15
- November 1
- January 1
- March 1
Furthermore, the school will not release official records until families have completed all financial obligations.
TUITION BALANCE AND ENROLLMENT
In the event of delinquent tuition or outstanding fee balances during the re-enrollment period for the subsequent academic year, the registration and enrollment will be placed on hold. All tuition and fees from the current academic year must be paid-in-full prior to re-enrollment.
PARISHIONER RATE
The parishioner rate for school tuition is available to those Roman Catholic families who are registered and participating members of the Church of St. Mary. In addition to being registered, families must also regularly participate in Sunday Mass at the Church of St. Mary while supporting the mission of the parish by donating their time, talent, and financial resources. Financial donations in the church Sunday offertory can be made through the use of the parish offertory envelope system or Give Central. Families who benefit from the parishioner rate for the school must regularly contribute to the offertory collection of the parish. Families new to both the Church of St. Mary and School of St. Mary will be charged the non-parishioner rate for the first six months of student attendance at the school. At that time, the Business Office will review the level of active participation in that six-month time period, communicate with those families who are active parishioners, and adjust the balance of tuition for the remainder of the school year to the Parishioner rate. The final determination on active parishioner status and tuition rate rests with the Pastor of the Church of St. Mary. The average cost of educating a student at the School of St. Mary exceeds the tuition and fees charged. The School of St. Mary Parents’ Association Annual Fund and the Church of St. Mary subsidy offset the difference between tuition and actual educational costs. Active parishioners of St. Patrick's Church are eligible for the parishioner rate with the approval of their Pastor.
REFUND POLICY
The school offers faculty and staff contracts as well as purchases materials based upon the March student enrollment.
- Both new and returning students are required to pay non-refundable registration and comprehensive fees.
- For students who withdraw from the School of St. Mary, the Parish Business Office will only process tuition refunds if the family moves out of Lake County.
- Tuition is required for any month in which a student is in attendance, regardless of the number of days.
- Tuition is non-refundable for a family who remains in Lake County but withdraws students from the School of St. Mary.
