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Catholic schools positively impact local communities in diocese

By KARA KOCZUR, Globe staff reporter
(Email Kara)

Each spring as Catholic schools send another group of aspiring graduates out into the world, a sense of pride is often felt by the schools knowing they have helped contribute to their community and society.

But for communities around the diocese, Catholic schools contribute much more than just a good education for its pupils.

“Catholic schools are very important to this community for the reason that it creates a community within the community and a sense of pride in that the community can support a private organization like it,” said Matt Bemrich, mayor of Fort Dodge.

Bemrich, whose children are the fourth generation of Bremich’s to attend St. Edmond, said St. Edmond’s also creates a cultural awareness of the importance of Catholic schools in Iowa.

“For a community our size, I think it’s pretty spectacular the quality of private school system that we have with St. Edmond’s,” he said.

St. Edmond’s students also bring pride for the community because as Bemrich says, they’re a “class act.”

“I don’t think I’ve heard of an event they’ve gone to where they didn’t come home with some type of sportsmanship award or some type of award for being recognized as good kids and quality groups,” he said. “They really represent the type of people that Fort Dodge has and they do that not just locally, but carry it throughout the state and everywhere they go.”

Pride for its Catholic school can also be felt in Carroll, said mayor Jim Pedelty.

“I think Carroll has an incredible sense of pride because both of our schools bring so much to the community that it’s easy to get excited about something going on at Kuemper this week and at Carroll High next week,” he said.

Pride brings unity to the community. Pedelty has seen it happen. Last spring Kuemper was part of a nationwide U.S. Cellular competition. Whatever ten schools in the company’s service area received the most votes, won $100,000, and Kuemper was one of those schools.

“Not only did we get everybody in Carroll to support it, but people in the surrounding areas and even alumni called in,” Pedelty said. “It was so great to see the community pull together in support.”

And that kind of unity is always good for a community, Carroll’s mayor added.

“There are always issues that are going to divide them,” he said. “Like right now I have one where there are some people who aren’t too happy about moving forward with the new library. It’s a divisive issue. But when you have a project like the [U.S. Cellular competition], it pulls everybody together, even for a relatively short period of time it’s still a plus for the community.”

Looking at the numbers, Catholic schools in both communities save money through lower property taxes and the public schools are able to operate on a larger tax base. The private schools also keep class sizes down.

Without the Catholic school, both Fort Dodge and Carroll would have issues fitting all the students into existing buildings, their mayors said.

But, it’s more than just the practical things that help the cities, Pedelty said.

“More than anything it brings opportunity; it brings a choice for people,” he said. “Anybody who is a Catholic looking to relocate would certainly consider it favorable that we have a great school system plus two very strong Catholic Churches in our community.”

Both mayors emphasized that having an educational choice is something the towns showcase to potential residents and businesses.

“I think it is definitely a tool used by our economic development groups here locally, both here in the county, city and even regionally that we have a quality educational program that is outside of the public realm,” Bemrich said.

While the Catholic school option is attractive for residents, it also draws former graduates back. Pedelty’s own son recently returned to Carroll with his family and enrolled his children at Kuemper.

“That’s what he knew and he wants them to have the same benefit,” he said.

It’s what Bemrich did, too.

“I’m just very proud of our Catholic school system in Fort Dodge, coming through it myself, and my father and grandfather coming through it,” he said. “Having the opportunity to live in my hometown where I was born and raised and send my kids to that school system is really just one of those things I was hoping I’d get to do as a young person, but never thought I probably would.”

As the mayors noted, Catholic schools have benefited their towns in both the past and present, and they look to them to benefit the future.

“Every little inch you can get when it comes to making your community more attractive,” Pedelty said, “is critical nowadays for the individuals and businesses.”