PiACE – Questions & Answers
How will the Ontario Conference constituents benefit from PiACE?
- The Ontario Conference will be more unified in its dedication to a critical underpinning of the Adventist faith: That every child in our church is a potential candidate for the Kingdom of Heaven.
- Embracing PiACE will demonstrate that Adventist Christian education IS a priority and is a worthy investment.
- Adventist pastors will be united in their recognition and support for an evangelistic tool that accounts for 30% of all NAD baptisms.
- Adventist educational institutions will be significant hubs of social, spiritual, and physical bonding amongst families, friends, and community.
- With the availability of more operating funds, school boards can focus more on the physical attractiveness of the school facilities.
- If PiACE becomes the culture of the church, with generous and unselfish support by all, more children will have the opportunity to benefit from Adventist Christian education.
- Special needs students would have more resources, support, and encouragement to be part of the Adventist system because of available funding.
- Instead of school boards, principals, and the OCOE spending inordinate amounts of time wrestling with the allocation of limited resources, time could be spent addressing the real essence of educational excellence.
- Every Adventist school will be seen by the community as a very viable option of excellence and opportunity.
What about Kingsway College? Most of its students are from Ontario? How will Kingsway’s needs be funded?
Although Kingsway College is operated by the SDACC, the Ontario Conference contributes substantially toward its operation. In 2008, Kingsway received more than $800,000, based on the 3% of Ontario tithe formula. In addition, many Kingsway students also received significant Conference dollars through the 3-way matching programme. PiACE is not intended to address a union school’s needs.
Why not divide Metro into areas that would support their own schools?
At some time in the future, this may be possible and even preferable. For ongoing stability of current and potential new elementary schools, it seems best to continue the current practice for now. The high school would need to continue receiving the 5% of Metro tithe (which is current 5% of constituent church’s tithe). Consideration would need to be given to amending the Conference by-law so that all GTA churches’ tithe will be included.
What is the time frame for the implementation of PiACE?
To be determined, possibly 2010-2011 for the first year of a 4-year phase-in.
Would PiACE funds go to the Conference?
Current thinking is that PiACE funds should go directly to the treasurer of the school which is supported by that district. In the event that there are multiple schools in a district (such as Western Ontario), the funds would go to the mutually agreed upon school treasurer who would then allocate funds as required by the formula. If there is NO school in the district, the funds would be forwarded to the Conference to be held in trust until such time as a school begins in that district. At the current time, one district (Near North) does not operate any church schools.
Who will decide what each church should contribute?
At the beginning of each school year, the Conference Office treasury and education departments will determine – based on the formula (church’s tithe as a percentage of the whole district, church membership, and church’s student enrolment) each church’s portion. Each church will then be informed of its financial obligation for that year. Information will be updated annually at the beginning of each new school year.
Won’t this be a burden to already busy/struggling church treasurers?
The math will already be done for them. It will be no more difficult than caring for other church expenditures.
Will tuition go down?
No. Tuition will continue to increase gradually as costs continue to rise. PiACE is needed to infuse more funds into a system that is already struggling. Not one of our schools has sufficient operating funds to maintain the high quality programme that is envisioned. Adventist tuition is very low for a private school education. This past year it cost nearly $8,000 to educate a child in one of our Ontario Adventist schools. That figure represents tuition, church subsidy, and Conference funds. Tuition should cover about 50% of the cost to educate a child.
Will tuition be the same across the Conference?
Tuition fees within a certain range will be set by the K-12 board. Within that framework, districts will be encouraged to set the tuition fees based upon their school’s needs.
Will PiACE take the place of the current “church subsidy?”
Yes.
How will the members be kept up-to-date regarding the educational system – the number of students, teachers, schools, successes, etc.?
SchoolTalk, the OCOE*’s primary information tool for Adventists, is included as a centrefold in the Ontario Conference Highlights 3-4 times yearly. This newsletter, distributed to all church-attending Adventists, includes information regarding the state and happenings of Adventist education in Ontario. In addition, each church is asked to select an Adventist Education Leader, who acts as a liaison between the OCOE and the local church. Pastors will be encouraged to provide updates regarding the educational system. In addition, an Adventist Education Day is scheduled yearly on the church calendar for the last Sabbath of April. Informative materials, such as DVDs, posters, brochures, etc., are distributed to the churches.
Is the use of Adventist Education Leaders effective?
Adventist Education Leaders (AELs) can be very helpful as they work in cooperation with the pastor(s) of the church. Training sessions are held annually for those holding this important position. AELs are becoming more actively involved in promoting Adventist education every year.
Can the Conference officials have a higher profile in PiACE?
Conference administrators have met with the PiACE committee (frequently) and also with various stakeholders including pastors, ministerial, and teachers. In addition, they have spoken about its importance in public meetings such as camp meetings, etc. They will continue to champion its adoption.
How soon will churches begin to see benefits from PiACE?
The programme will begin to be phased in for the 2010-11 school year, subject to its acceptance by the constituency. During the anticipated four-year transition, churches will become more committed to embracing “their” school. As funds increase for school operations, church members will be filled with pride at the overall improvement of the school’s operations. For additional benefits, please refer to Question #1.
What place does distance or distributed learning have in PiACE?
Students who do not have access to an Adventist school should be able to choose a distance education option. Because of financial constraints involved, this option will also be tuition-driven. The Conference’s Technology Committee is currently looking into the feasibility of either initiating our own or teaming up with another conference with similar provincial requirements.
What about funds for new schools starting up? Can PiACE be used for this purpose?
Churches begin schools; the Conference does not, though the OCOE will work closely with the church to help make it happen. PiACE funds are to be used for school operations. If a new school begins in a district that already has a school, the PiACE funds will be reapportioned accordingly for operating costs.
Will there be sufficient dollars generated under this PiACE plan?
If all churches will participate in this plan, there will be enough funds to operate a thriving, growing Adventist educational system.
Will school constitutions be synchronized? Will school boards continue to function?
Most likely the school constitutions will need to be more uniform. At this time each school has a slightly different constitution, though most of the information is similar. It would make more sense to use a master constitution, with customized adjustments according to individual school needs.
School boards will continue to operate, and so will the Conference K-12 Board.
Requiring the equivalent of 10% of tithe to come out of church budget would be a hardship for some churches. Isn’t there an alternative?
Tithe is the best indicator of a church’s ability to give. If church budget funds are insufficient, the church members must be educated about stewardship. Church budget is always important, and many church members do not understand the difference between this and tithe.
Why can’t tithe funds be used for Adventist education?
NAD policy does not allow the use of whole scale tithe toward Adventist education, just a percentage. The reason for using tithe at all is that a certain percentage of classroom time is devoted to religious education. In the Ontario Conference, 40% of teacher costs (not salaries) are paid for from tithe funds. The recommendation from the NAD is 35%, so the Ontario Conference has exceeded this guideline. Last year 18% of Ontario’s gross tithe went to support Adventist education. (In Canada, only the Maritimes exceeds this percentage.)
Will participation be voluntary or mandatory?
Once the proposal is ratified, all churches will be encouraged to participate. The success of PiACE and of Adventist education in Ontario depends on the participation of all churches and companies.
What if there is a school that is currently operating effectively and is costing the constituents less than under the proposed PiACE plan? Will that be taken into consideration?
At the present time there may be one school that is operating at a cash flow level that would be considered acceptable. However, 9 of our 10 schools would benefit tremendously from an infusion of funds.
Why not devise a plan which allows every child to enrol in our schools regardless of ability to pay the tuition?
PiACE is not designed to address tuition. In a case of a parent being unable to afford tuition, the student’s church will be encouraged to address the need. This could be in the form of Worthy Student Funds, Church Sponsors, Church Fundraisers, etc.
Eventually, the Conference plans to have about $2 million in its Education Endowment Fund. Interest from this fund will be disbursed on a case-by-case basis to worthy students. At the present time, this fund has approximately $400,000.
The formula will be a challenge to market to parents because there is no incentive to mitigate the stress of high tuition costs.
Adventist education is expensive. However, PiACE is being marketed from the “for the good of the whole” philosophy of the Christian church. Adventist education is the responsibility of ALL of the church’s members.
Why not use evangelism funds for one year to fix our schools?
This is not a bad idea; however, it is better to have a sustainable source of income that would be available beyond one year.
Have other Conferences tried anything like this? If so, has it worked?
Research seems to indicate that two Conferences, one in the US, and one in western Canada did try something similar. Both Conferences did set a per member amount which proved unsuccessful.
* OCOE = Ontario Conference Office of Education