By Patrick Downes | Hawaii Catholic Herald

To say tuition went up this year wouldn’t be news. It did. Pretty much across the board. Tuition goes up every year — anywhere from a few hundred dollars or more — to stay in pace with the ever rising costs of education.

Yet, with most Catholic elementary school tuitions hovering in the $4,000 to $5,000 range, and most high schools still below $10,000, the cost of sending a child to a Catholic school in Hawaii is a bargain when compared to other private schools in Hawaii.

But it’s still a lot of money.

One Hawaii Catholic elementary school broke the $10,000 barrier this year. Maryknoll School now charges $10,200 for pre-school through grade five, and $10,800 for grades six through eight, but it has a robust financial aid program. Maryknoll’s figures also include “fees,” which for most schools, are additions to the tuition. Other grade schools tack on anywhere from $250 to $1,000 in fees to an annual tuition bill.

Most Catholic high schools in Hawaii now include middle or junior high school grades. Tuition for middle grades seven and eight are generally about $1,000 less than that for high school grades 9-12 which run mostly in the $8,000 to $10,000 range when fees are included. At $11,500, Maryknoll’s high school division tops the highest secondary school tuition this year.

While about half of Hawaii’s Catholic elementary schools include pre-school grades, nine more Catholic preschools, or “early learning centers,” consider themselves stand-alone operations. These mostly charge tuition by the month in the $500 to $700 range.

A glance at the websites of other private schools in Hawaii reveals tuition costs significantly higher than those of Catholic schools.

Punahou School lists the tuition for the 2006-07 school year for grades K-12 as $14,725. Iolani School’s website lists its 2006-07 for grades K - 12 at $13,100. According to its website, Mid-Pacific Institute’s pre-school-grade 12 tuition for 2006-07 was $13,950.

The Hawaii public school system reports spending around $9,000 per year per student.

Two Hawaii Catholic schools did not raise tuition or fees this year: Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Ewa Beach and St. Elizabeth, Aiea.

Tuition also stayed the same for St. Anthony, Kalihi, Cathedral Catholic Academy, and St. Theresa, Honolulu, but all their fees went up.