School Says No Cash, No Learning

By Prescott Carlson in News on Mar 11, 2009 10:00PM

Even Catholic schools are feeling the pinch in these troubled economic times, and one Chicago Heights high school is playing hardball in order to pay the bills. Marian Catholic High School yanked 300 students out of their classrooms on Monday because their parents owed between $750 and $5,000 in tuition bills, turning the school office into a chaotic frenzy. While many parents were able to quickly straighten things out, approximately 100 kids were sent home and told not to come back until their tuition had been paid in full. The school said that a notice went out last week warning parents of the intended drastic action.

While of course a school can't run on wishes and promises, we feel this was a bit extreme -- one mother claims her son was sent home when she was only one month behind. Should a school really treat the education process like a cell phone plan? Especially one that's tied to a charitable organization? There are other ways to squeeze parents for payment, such as forbidding the student from attending extra-curricular activities, denying enrollment to school next year, withholding diplomas and transcripts for graduating students -- suspending students in the middle of the school year should have been a last resort.

What would Principal Jesus do?