“She is to have a son and you are to name him Jesus.” Matthew 1:21

How have things changed for Mercy?FinancesAs you can imagine, Mercy is quite different today than in its earlyyears. The biggest change, which has had the greatest impact onour school as a business, is in personnel. Today, nearly 100% of ourfaculty and staff are lay persons, the salary and benefits of whichaccount for nearly 80% of our operating budget. This is obviously avery different demand on revenue and the primary cause of increasingtuition rates at all Catholic schools.There is also more demand on a family’s budget, especially inour current economic state, so as the cost of Catholic educationcontinues to rise, its affordability becomes a greater questionfor parents. Thus, one of my immediate goals is creating greaterfinancial support for tuition assistance at Mercy. None of usshould ever have to experience worshiping at our neighborhoodchurches where the family we sit next to in the pew can sharein Mass with us, but can’t share in the spirit of Mercy simplybecause they can’t afford it.RecruitingIn addition to the dramatic personnel shift over the decades,recruiting students to Mercy has also changed significantly. Whileblessed with a larger than average community of Catholics in ourlocal neighborhoods, as well as by some very generous contributors,we are still not completely immune to the struggle mostCatholic schools are experiencing across the nation. The totalprospective pool of students at the elementary level has steadilydecreased over the years, which naturally impacts high schoolenrollments. This trend, combined with the aforementioned escalatingtuition, has caused an overall diminishing student body formany Catholic high schools.Even more specific to Cincinnati, in 2007 the Archdiocese “lifted”the recruiting boundaries which had provided each high schoolwith tributary elementary schools and guaranteed a fairly steadysupply of students each year as girls continued to their designatedhigh school. Now those same students can choose any one ofthe local Catholic high schools (in addition to the public, whichhave always been an option) which has created a very competitivemarket in our Catholic system. The idea of competing against ourCatholic partners is, to me, quite tragic and seems in conflict withthe very mission of Catholic schools, but it’s indeed our reality atthis time. Recruiting is now like another competitive sport thatdemands a lot of planning, diligence and thorough execution -and ultimately the numbers reveal the winners.What is the future for Mercy?Those Catholic schools that are “surviving” the compoundingcomplication of fewer students available and higher costs are thoseinstitutions that are conducting business very differently than inthe past. Yes, Mercy is a school, but we must think as a businessof education. And as a business, we are managing and positioningMother of Mercy High School to not merely survive, but thrive!There is so much of which to be proud here at Mercy – it’s truly aremarkable school with a long track record of excellence and I amso very proud to be its first President. While our student body issmaller than it was ten years ago, our academic and extracurricularachievements, as well as curriculum offerings, have grown. Forexample, we have six National Merit students this year and 100%of our graduates have been continuing on to the higher education!We’ve also expanded our beautiful facility and provide state-of-theartlearning tools and technology. However, my job is to see Mercynot only for all that it is, but for all that it can become, and I believeMercy can become a school that reaches even more families andchanges more lives. I believe we can raise the essential resourcesto build the bridge to our next generation of Mercy girls; and Ibelieve we can become the single-most sought after high school forPresidential ‘perks’: French classes will share crepes with you!4|memos & memories