Lucas Stangler

“My first year as principal, the government passed the Invest in Kids Act and that allowed the tax credit scholarships to become available.”

“Every year, we’ve had about 100 students, two-thirds of our school, apply and qualify for the tax credit scholarship program. This year 61 students received financial assistance through the tax credit scholarship program.”

“There’s an enormous amount of kids who attend St. Jude and have need for scholarships. We have a lot of engagement from parents and families applying for them and also tremendous support through donors.”

“We raised over $200,000, both this year and last year, through donations purely to the tax credit scholarship program.”

“That equates to about one-fifth of our expenses for the year. So it’s just amazing to be able to get such a large chunk of what we need to run the school through this one program.”

“The tax credit scholarship program has enabled so many families that want to come to St. Jude to be able to do it financially. I think that’s the most important impact that the program has had. We’ve had new students come here because they received tax credit scholarships, and/or it’s relieved some of the burden of financial obligations for the families of currently enrolled students and allowed them to continue their education here.”

“I would love to see an increase in the tax credit that people receive when they donate go from 75% to 100%. I would also love to see the program extended from kindergarten through 12th grade to pre K through 12th grade.”

“It’s a tremendous program that gives families the ability to send their kids to a school of their choice. I believe that’s a really powerful thing to be able to do in the grand scheme of things. It’s a totally worthwhile program.”

Lucas Stangler
Principal, St. Jude Catholic School
Joliet, Illinois