To St. Thomas Parishioners,

Thank you for recognizing the importance of your child’s Catholic faith. St. Thomas is ready to support you through the Mecklenburg Area Catholic School (MACS) parish participation subsidy voucher process.

Because the tuition subsidy represents a significant financial commitment for the parish, St. Thomas has an obligation and a responsibility to ensure that each family that benefits from reduced tuition is actively engaged in our parish community. Our generous parishioners also play a very important role, so we owe it to them as well.

To be able to receive the reduced tuition, a family first and foremost must be a “Participating Catholic”. Here is the criteria we are looking for to be eligible to receive the Participating Catholic tuition rate, which provides reduced tuition of at least 30% from MACS published tuition for non-participating Catholics.

To qualify for the participating Catholic tuition rate at St. Thomas Aquinas, the following requirements must be met:

1. A family must be registered at St. Thomas for at least 6 months before requesting a Parish Participation Voucher from the parish office.
2. Each student seeking the Participating Catholic tuition rate must be baptized as a Catholic.
3. During the sacrament year, a student must participate in an appropriate sacrament preparation class at St. Thomas.
4. Each family, including each student benefiting from a tuition reduction, must participate regularly in the Sunday Mass.
5. Each family must, if able, financially support St. Thomas in excess of the subsidy for each student in the family who attends MACS and receives tuition reduction
6. Each family must participate in parish ministries and activities by sharing their time, talent and treasure at St. Thomas.*

Families who fulfill the criteria as a Participating Catholic receive a tuition reduction per student between $5,231 and $5,836. Specifically, the discounts are as follows:

For each academic year, the Charlotte Diocese assesses St. Thomas between $110-115,000 to support families with children enrolled in MACS. This assessed amount is a significant percentage of St. Thomas’ total annual expense budget, which is paid directly from St. Thomas’ general operating funds. If a family is able to meet each of the six criteria, and has completed the MACS application process, they may submit a MACS Parish Participation Voucher request to St. Thomas Aquinas. Upon receipt of the request, St. Thomas will then confirm the family’s participation status, then once confirmed, the request will be completed.

Please reach out to the parish office if you have any questions.

* In relation to number six, above, please see below for a more detailed breakout of some of
the many ways you and your family can be actively involved in the life of the parish.