PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer
In a radical, and nationally unprecedented, change to its 120-year-old education system, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia is handing over management of its secondary and special education schools to an independent foundation.
The recently-incorporated Faith in the Future Foundation aims to not only maintain but also grow a Catholic school system hit hard by declining enrollments, deficits and closings. It will manage 17 high schools and four special education schools, according to the terms of a five-year contract recently signed by Archbishop Charles J. Chaput.
It will be the first independently-managed Catholic school system in the country. …
Although the archdiocese will still own the schools and their assets, the foundation will cover their operating deficits.
The archdiocese has spent more than $11 million during the past 16 months responding to a 2011 Philadelphia grand jury report on clergy sex abuse, and projects a $6 million deficit in its operating budget for the 2012-2013 fiscal year. However, Hanway said those difficulties did not drive the decision to privatize management of these schools.
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