TUITION ASSISTANCE & SCHOLARSHIPS
All Saints Education is Affordable

Listed below are several financial assistance options.

If you have any questions, please call the school at 363-4110.

State of Iowa Tuition Tax Credit

This is a credit not just a deduction. Assuming that you do owe taxes to the State of Iowa, you can get up to a $250 credit toward your State of Iowa tax liability. The credit effectively reduces the cost of your child's tuition by up to $250.

The official wording is 25% of the first $1000 paid toward tuition and textbooks. All Saints Parish School tuition is over the $1000 per year, so usually you can take the entire credit. If your child is starting kindergarten in the fall you should make sure you pay at least $1000 of the tuition to take full advantage of the credit for that year.

All Saints School provides a tuition and textbook payment invoice each January to help you keep track of your payments.

School Tuition Organization Scholarship (STO)

All Saints Parish School is a member of the Our Faith, Our Children, Our Future School Tuition Organization (STO).

The first step toward receiving STO tuition assistance is filling out an application form that will be available at the end of January. School year 2011-2012 applications are due by March 15, 2011, and notification of assistance will be made by May 10, 2011. Applications are available from Marlene Bartlett and also online at https://www.psas.org/onlineapp.aspx School Code: 1813 and the Authorization Code: arch1. Tax returns for 2010 are typically required to complete the 2011-2012 STO application.

Depending on family income and the amount of scholarship money available from STO, students can be awarded anywhere from $100 to full tuition.

Additional information is available on the Archdiocese of Dubuque website at:
http://www.ourfaithsto.org/

All Saints Parish School Scholarship

All Saints Parish also offers tuition assistance based on need. The All Saints Parish scholarship can be in addition to the STO tuition assistance.

Completing the application for the STO scholarship also makes you eligible for the All Saints Parish scholarship. Applications are available from Marlene Bartlett and also online at https://www.psas.org/index.aspx. Applications may be submitted throughout the year but the availability of funds may be limited after the start of the school year.


SCRIP

Through the SCRIP program, you purchase gift certificates or gift cards to stores, restaurants and businesses that you already shop at or plan to use. A percentage of the certificates you purchase is rebated to your account throughout the school year and summer. Your previous year's earnings are applied to your tuition bill each August.

Your purchases also help the school because an amount equal to your earnings is given to the school by the SCRIP program.

After filling out a form to set up your account - all you have to do is a little bit of planning and take the time to place your order. You can order in person at various sales times (Fridays from 3-4pm, Saturdays after 4pm Mass and Sundays after 8am Mass until 10:20AM), or order via the SCRIP website at www.shopwithscrip.com. The rebate amount varies between 2% and 25% depending on the business. With a little work you can save $100 to $200 or more toward your tuition.

Multiply your SCRIP earning by having friends and relatives (especially grandparents) designate their earnings for your child tuition.

To start a SCRIP account, download an order form, place an order, check the selling schedule or obtain additional information, see the SCRIP page of the school website.

Coverdell Education Savings Account (ESA)

You can save money for elementary and secondary school as well as college. Each dependant can have up to $2000 deposited yearly in one or multiple ESAs. The contributions are not tax deductible, but the earnings and distributions are. Just like saving for retirement with an IRA or 401K - it makes sense to start an ESA as soon as possible to let the earnings on the contributions grow before making a withdrawal.

Example: You plan on your child going to parochial school. When your child is four years old you put $2000 in an ESA each year on August 1 and continue deposits for four more years and it grows at 10% per year. The ESA contributions have totaled $10,000 and the earnings total over $4260. When your child enters 4th grade you could use a disbursement from the ESA to pay for tuition - the earnings are tax-free.
 

Transportation Reimbursement
If you provide transportation for your child to school, and you live more than two miles, you could be entitled to reimbursement from the school district. All Saints School makes it easy for you by sending the forms home in November and April. You must return the form by December 1st and May 1st.

The actual dollar amount depends on how far away you live and a few other things, but the reimbursement could amount to anywhere from $100 to $400 per year.