The universal truth that Catholic school tuition will always go up was not practiced universally this year as at least five schools kept their prices the same as the year before.
One school even lowered its base tuition cost for one of its grades: Damien Memorial School reduced its sixth grade tuition by $300, while raising it for grades 7-12.
Most tuition rates went up $200-$500.
Most schools have two costs — tuition and fees. Full day preschool tuition runs from $6,500 to more than $10,000. Grade school tuition ranges from less than $5,000 to a high of $14,500. High school tuition goes from $8,100 to $14,500.
Some schools have no extra fees, while some fees are as high as $1,300. Most fees are in the $500 range.
Most of the higher-priced schools also offer significant tuition assistance, lowering the tuition considerably for many of their students.
Those schools that did not raise both tuition and fees include St. Joseph Grade School in Hilo, St. Joseph Junior/Senior High School in Hilo, Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Ewa Beach, St. Anthony in Kalihi and St. Ann’s Early Learning Center in Kaneohe. St. Michael, Waialua, raised its tuition by $200, but lowered its fees but the same amount, keeping the total cost the same as the year before.
