"Payback Time!"

Note: I was asked to speak in remembrance of Mr. Jim Oates at his funeral on January 11, 2019. These were my remarks. 

The most difficult issue facing Catholic schools today is one of affordability.

We cannot set our tuitions too high, pricing our schools such that only the economically privileged can afford us—that’s contrary to our mission. On the other hand, we can’t set it too low if we want good teachers to work with us—we must pay them enough to support THEIR families. 

For over 100 years, our Catholic schools were blessed to be run by smart, grace-filled women and men religious, who received very little in terms of compensation, living austere lives in community with each other. What an amazing gift they were for our Church for all of us! 

But times have changed, and with just a few exceptions, the sisters and brothers are no longer with us, so to carry on their work, Catholic schools must now hire committed laymen and women, causing our tuition costs to sky-rocket. Frankly, there's an increasing gap between what we must charge and what a number of Catholic families can afford. 

In our school’s second year, I was approached by a older Catholic man, Jim McAleer, who proposed an interesting way of bridging the gap. His idea was to invite Catholics of his generation-- those who been taught by the sisters and brothers of yesteryear--to become “guardian angels” for younger Catholic families of today, assisting them with tuition.  "Guardian Angels" would either make monthly tuition payments credited directly to a student's account, or make donations which would be placed in a designated school account, and if Catholic families needed some extra help to attend our school, they'd first apply for financial aid from our school. We'd do what we can to help them, and if they needed more, they would approach their pastor, who could instruct me to withdraw monies from the guardian angel account to help them.   

I spoke to the pastors, who thought it was a fantastic idea, as it gave them a source to help their families. And it would be clear to these families that this was an outreach of the Church and a gift from its older families. 

So in our school's second year, we launched the "Guardian Angel" appeal. Right away,  we received a very generous gift from a guy named Jim Oates. I didn’t know who he was. Normally we send thank you cards, but this gift was such that I wanted to thank him personally.  So I did. 

Mr. Oates was pleased to get my call. But those of you who know him will not be surprised to learn that within a minute, he started needling me with a series of practical questions about how we ran the program. “How do you determine if a family truly has need, vs. a family that’s just trying to get a good deal?” “Well, “ I said, "we ask that families make financial disclosure statements and send that off to a third party, who assesses their need.” “But how do you confirm what the families say?” "They must verify their numbers with copies of their recent tax forms," I said. Mr. Oates thought for a moment:  "That’s GOOOOOD,"  he said.  “That’s something I’m going to continue to support. “ 

The second year, he sent us even a bigger check for GA, and this time, I decided to visit him. “May I ask,” I said, “why you’re so generous to this outreach?” I’ll never forget what he said:  

“Listen,” he said, with fire in his eyes. “ I went to  St. Joseph School in downtown Mobile for $3/month. When I graduated, I went to McGill Institute for $100 a year. These two schools changed my life. It’s PAYBACK TIME!”  

This last summer, Mr. Oates called me up and told me to come visit him. He was more somber than usual, as if he had urgent business. “Catholic Schools are very important to me. I want to leave a substantial portion of my estate to St. Michael, but only if you promise me that it will only be used for future Catholic families who need help to attend your school. You can’t use it to build athletic fields or anything else. You can't let the archdiocese have it. Families who need financial help only. Promise?  “Mr. Oates,” I said, choking up a bit. “I promise.” 

Jim died on December 13, 2019. 

I've met some very generous people in my 31 years as a Catholic high school principal. But I have never met someone as passionate or as generous as Mr. Oates when it comes to assisting families with financial aid. What a gift! What a legacy!  

Mr. Oates, on behalf of the generations of students and families who will receive the "Jim and Delores Oates Scholarship" to attend St. Michael Catholic High in the future, thank you. Thank you. Thank you.