In today’s bulletin, you’ll find an insert that has our year-end financial report for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2023. I usually wait until the fall to publish the report so that we have time to review it with our Finance Council, but this year we also had a diocesan audit (required when we bring on a new Business Manager) in August, so we closed out the year a little later than usual, after we’d gotten approval from our auditor.
Our consolidated finances show that we continue to have a surplus on the parish side that funds the deficit in the school, and this year was one of our healthiest years financially in recent memory. On the parish side, we can see that collections have increased since re-emerging from the pandemic, and I’m grateful and humbled by the generosity with which our parishioners have continued to support our parish. The insert also shows a decrease in parish expenses, although this is a little misleading, since the prior year’s expenses include extraordinary expenses related to the fire and vandalism incidents from that year, which were reimbursed by insurance.
There was much more activity on the school side of the budget, primarily because of a mandatory change in the diocesan policy for setting school tuition, which resulted in higher tuition for our school families. (We have aggressively tried to mitigate the impact of this increase through a generous tuition assistance program, and this year the expansion of the state’s School CHOICE Program has helped greatly.) As a result, you can see a sharp increase in our tuition income, which translates to the bottom line. We have committed to use this increased income to tackle important deferred maintenance projects throughout the campus.
The overall message is that our parish finances are very healthy right now, thanks to your spirit of stewardship and the diligent and prudent work of our staff. I also want to take this opportunity to thank our Parish Finance Council for their invaluable support throughout the year. While they are instrumental in reviewing financial performance and approving the budget, they also provide expertise and counsel in so many other issues that arise throughout the year. So a big thanks to all of you who sat on this council for the past fiscal year: Nathan Baumgartner, Mark Berta, TJ Brecht, Danny Conroy, Molly Kelly, John Miller, Chris Skoczylas, Shawn Stevens, John Szobocsan and Leslie Yates (as well as our two new members this year, Hal Loebach and Concha Prado-Grimmer). I also want to take this opportunity to recognize our Business Manager, Jennifer Snyder, and our principal, Lindsay Jeffress (as well as Steve Hoffman, who served as our principal for the prior fiscal year). I can unequivocally say that they are excellent stewards of the resources entrusted to the parish, and that they work tirelessly to use our parish funds in the most effective and responsible manner possible.
With all of this focus on finances, I don’t want to overlook our mission, our reason for existence, which is to build the Kingdom and share the Good News of Jesus Christ here in our local community. Strong finances don’t accomplish that mission and should never overshadow it. I just hope and pray that by stewarding our resources well, we may enhance our ability to share the Gospel. Please keep me and the rest of our Pastoral Team in your prayers so that we may lead our Christ the King family in such a way that we are a powerful force for Christ in our community and beyond.