PCUSA’s new curriculum: hurrahs for a $210,335 deficit
By John H. Adams, The Layman Online, September 30, 2003
MONTREAT, N.C. – The number-crunchers in the Presbyterian Church (USA) are claiming great success in the denomination’s new curriculum venture – spawned by “booming sales and determined cost-cutting,” according to a Presbyterian News Service story.
But is the cup half full or half empty?
DevelopmentProductionCost of goods soldBudgeted$419,968$322,400$1,606,808Actual (August 31)$190,464$197,688$1,446,340Total reduced costs $229,504$124,712 $160,468
The “booming” sales reported to the General Assembly Council during its meeting in Montreat in September were $2,689,977 for the denomination’s new curriculum titled We Believe.
In fact, the boom was less than 1 percent (exactly 0.815%) over what had been projected – actual sales of $2,689,877 vs. $2,668,138 in projected sales.
And while the staff of the Presbyterian Church (USA) reported a $600,223 “improvement” over what had been budgeted, the curriculum nonetheless showed a $210,335 loss for the period that ended August 31. The loss had been projected at $810,558.
So how did the PCUSA manage to cut its loss? The simple answer is either that it surprisingly spent less money or that its budget estimates were inflated. A cup-half-full analysis might conclude the latter.
The report by Mission Support Services to the General Assembly Council revealed that there were three major areas in which actual expenses were lower than budgeted expenses. Costs for development were $229,504 lower than budgeted; for production, $124,712 lower; and cost of goods sold, $160,468. Those three categories account for 86 percent – $514,684 – of the reported improvement.
Members of the General Assembly are eager to have the We Believe curriculum do well. Bruce Hendickson, chair of the council’s Mission Support Services Committee, said, “This is a positive story … that the whole church should celebrate.”
But the bottom line on We Believe is a $210,335 loss for 2003, as of August 31 – which is at least an improvement over its previous curriculum publishing venture, Covenant People, which drowned in a sea of more than $1 million in red ink before the General Assembly Council stopped the presses in 2001.