Campus choice and cost spur declining enrollment at Sonoma County’s Christian schools

School choice and financial recessions are cited as reasons for the sharp decline in enrollments among Sonoma County religious schools in the 21st century.

Catholic schools have seen enrollments decline 28 percent this year from the 1999-2000 academic year, according to data from the California Department of Education. Total enrollment this year is 2,144 students.

Other religious schools, nearly all Protestant, experienced an even bigger drop, declining 62 percent in the same period. Those schools this year have a total enrollment of 1,203 students.

The declines are partly due to recession and to the increase in charter schools and home school alternatives, said the Rev. Chris Bauer, senior pastor at Santa Rosa Bible Church.

The church operates the largest non-Catholic religious school, Rincon Valley Christian. The school has 221 students in its regular K-12 program, about 45 in its preschool and another 228 students in its home school program, the staff reported.

“There are just more options today educationally than there ever have been,” Bauer said.

Santa Rosa Catholic Bishop Robert Vasa also cited the large increase in charter schools as a reason for the decline in religious school enrollments. He also said that the large majority of children in Catholic parishes today are Latino and their parents often lack the financial means to pay for private schools.

“If I had 1,000 scholarships available,” Vasa said, “I would have 1,000 Latino students” joining parish schools.