A study of the functions of school boards in the educational system of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States

Until the era of Vatican Council II in the mid-1960’s, Catholic elementary and secondary schools functioned within a clearly established authority structure. Parochial schools operated under the authority of the pastor of the parish and diocesan or central schools under that of the bishop of the diocese or his priest delegate.

Vatican Council II called for active lay participation in the life of the church and encouraged bishops to consult with the laity and value their contributions to the church. However, there is no evidence that the decrees of this Council altered the authority structure of the church. The Roman Catholic church is a hierarchical organization in which the bishop has final authority within his diocese. In many states, he also has complete civil authority in the tenure of church property.

Following Vatican Council II, the proponents of a renewal Catholic school board movement urged that these boards be constituted as jurisdictional with complete authority for Catholic schools. The model for these boards was based on the public school board model. Since the authority structure of the Roman Catholic church is significantly different from that of the state which receives its authority from the people, the organizational systems including boards of education for Catholic and public schools must reflect these different authority sources.

This dissertation studies the authority structure of the Roman Catholic church, the reasons for the development of a separate Catholic school system in the United States, the development of central Catholic high schools, and the Catholic school board movement before and after Vatican Council II. It concludes by making recommendations for alternative models for reorganizing non-private Catholic schools within the authority structure of the church and for constituting diocesan and local school boards in a manner which gives parents a voice in the operation of their children's schools.