The Church Replies:

FATHER GREGORY COIRO, Director of media relations, archdiocese of Los Angeles

The teacher erroneously compares public schools to private schools. Everyone, whether they have children or not, pays for public schools through taxes. This is how public schools have the wherewithal to afford salaries. This is not the case with private schools. We depend solely on donations, fund-raisers and tuition.

Anyone who decides to teach in a Catholic school is aware of this and knows that salaries are not what they are in public schools. There are intangible benefits that come from teaching at Catholic schools though. For example, there is the greater emphasis on values and discipline.

From my experience, most teachers who work in Catholic schools are products of a Catholic school education, believe in the system and want to participate in the ministry of education. People who are involved are aware that it’s not just a job, it’s a vocation, a ministry. There is no “pressure” for teachers to get credentials. As in any profession, teachers are encouraged to continue their professional growth so as not to remain stagnant and for personal enrichment.

There are different pay ranges. We have teachers who have master’s or doctoral degrees who earn higher salaries. There is a higher salary scale for teachers with 15 years of service, compared to rookie teachers. And teachers with credentials are also compensated in their salaries. But again, it’s not as much as it would be at a public school. Since the archdiocese does not run on a centralized model, it depends on the resources at the individual schools to do what they can to cover the costs of credentialing teachers.

One of the most widespread misconceptions is that the Catholic Church is wealthy. People must understand that all the money the church generates goes into ministry. There are no liquid assets like cash. There is real estate, like churches, hospitals, nursing homes, schools.

To bring in the issue of the cathedral is a red herring. This is a one-time project being paid for by corporations, foundations and individuals who are making special donations for that specific purpose. A cathedral is essential to the life of the local church and right now, Los Angeles does not have one.

The archdiocese also has the Education Foundation of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, for which almost $100 million has been raised that goes to less affluent students to provide scholarships to attend Catholic schools, both elementary and high school.