Tuition Policy
St. James the Greater Church sponsors an elementary school as a ministry to its members.  Its purpose is to educate the entire child, and especially to evangelize the child in the Catholic faith.Funding for the operation of the school comes from three sources.  The parish subsidizes the operation of the school with a portion of the Sunday collection, which also must support the other needs of the parish.  The school depends on assistance from the State of Ohio to provide specialized services and mandated services required by the State.  The third source is the tuition paid by the families of the students attending St. James School.  Obviously, the full cost to educate a child at St. James is much higher than the tuition charged.

Determining Tuition Rates
Each spring the school administration, after consultation with the School Advisory Commission, presents a budget to the parish Finance Council.  This budget includes the proposed tuition rates for the following school year.  After accepting the school budget, the Finance Council includes it in the full parish budget, which is then presented to the Pastoral Council.  The Pastoral Council reviews the full parish budget and then makes a recommendation to the Pastor to accept or reject the budget. If the budget is accepted, the tuition rates are published for the following school year.

Parishioner and Non-Parishioner Rates
It is expected that parishioner families with students in the parish school support the whole parish through regular contributions through the Sunday collection.  Since it is presumed that parishioners are doing this, there is a reduced tuition rate for parishioners.  To receive the parishioner rate, the following are required: 
    - The family is registered in the parish.
    - At least one parent is Catholic.
    - The child is baptized and is being raised as a Catholic.

Students who are not parishioners are invited to attend St. James School, but at the full tuition level.

There is a scale of adjusted tuition rates for parishioner families with multiple children in St. James School.  Children in kindergarten do not qualify for multiple child discounts.  Non-parishioners are not eligible for multiple child discounts. 

Tuition for 2023-2024

Other Fees
There is registration fee of $200.00 per family. This fee is not refundable if the family chooses another school.

There is a $20.00 annual fee for students in grades 2-8 to cover insurance for new chromebooks issued.  There is a $50.00 per-family cafeteria fee which is added to the tuition amount.

EdChoice Scholarship Program
The Educational Choice Scholarship (EdChoice) Program provides students from designated public schools the opportunity to attend participating private schools. There are two types of EdChoice Scholarships: Traditional and Expansion.

The Traditional EdChoice Scholarship provides State of Ohio funded scholarships to Ohio residents who would otherwise attend underperforming schools.  This program is based on the student’s residence.

The EdChoice Expansion Scholarship is based on a student’s family income.  This income-based program provides scholarships to students whose family income is at or below 450 percent of the Federal Poverty Guidelines.

If you have questions about this scholarship, please contact Abby Ghering by calling (513) 741-5333.

St. James Active Parishioner Scholarship
St. James Church offers our Catholic students, active St. James parishioners, a St. James Active Parishioner Scholarship in the amount of $1,633.  

Financial Aid from the Archdiocese of Cincinnati
The Archdiocese of Cincinnati offers tuition assistance to any family wishing to attend a Catholic school.  Eligible families can be awarded up to $1,100 per student to attend St. James next year.  Funds will be distributed based on the assessed financial need of families and will be without distinguishing between families based on religion or parishioner status.  For more information about this opportunity, please click here.

Scholarships/Financial Aid from St. James Parish 
The parish does provide the opportunity for additional tuition reduction through a tuition assistance program.  Parents can apply online by submitting the necessary information to an independent company (FACTS Grant & Aid Assessment) which evaluates the family’s need and ability to pay.  This information is submitted to the parish with suggestions for an additional reduction in tuition.  The parish cannot meet all the requests for additional aid, but attempts to assist parishioners as much as possible.  The deadline for applications for St. James tuition assistance is April 15 for the following school year.  If a family does not have a student in high school next year, they can wait until after the first of the year to apply for St. James tuition assistance.  The application can be completed at FACTS. If you have any questions about tuition assistance or the application process, please contact the St. James Parish Office, at 741-5320.

In addition to this financial aid provided from the parish budget, two $750 scholarships from the John Merritt Scholarship Fund are awarded to students entering St. James.  These are also based on need.

Tuition assistance is not applicable to non-parishioners.

Tuition Payments
Tuition collection is handled through an online tuition management company, FACTS.  A variety of tuition payment plans are available to meet the individual needs of our families.  The options are: 

1. Payment in full by August 1 (which entitles the family to a 2% discount)
2. Two semiannual payments
3. Four quarterly payments
4. Ten monthly payments
5. Twenty bi-monthly payments

Tuition can be paid with a credit card or through electronic withdrawals from a checking or savings account.  The first tuition payment is due in August.  FACTS will add a service charge depending on the payment plan chosen.  If the tuition is paid in full, a $20 service fee will be added per family.  Most payment plans will include a $46 service fee per family.  FACTS will also be used for incidental billing (field trip fees, PTO dues, etc.).  

The parish office and the school office do not process tuition payments. 

Additional Stipulations
If a family is delinquent in tuition payments, the child’s report card will be held for that trimester.

All tuition must be paid in full for the transfer of school records to another school, including high schools.

All tuition must be paid in full for the student to participate in the 8th grade graduation ceremonies.

All tuition must be paid in full before the registration for the following school year is confirmed.

Registration to FACTS must be done before the registration for the following school year is confirmed.