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When the economy prevented teachers at Clinton Christian School from receiving a raise last school year, parents at the school decided they needed to raise funds to show teachers their appreciation.

This year, the school's Parent Teacher Fellowship is working on a $50,000 fundraising campaign to give bonuses to each of the school's 43 teachers by the end of the school year. They hope to raise $100,000 over two years.

"Part of that is our teachers did not receive a pay increase last year due to the economy. … We decided to, on our own, make sure that happens, to work toward getting some type of bonus this year," said Shay Colbert, the PTF president.

Clinton Christian is one of many private schools in the region bracing for the fallout from the struggling economy.

Due to economic projections, Clinton Christian School raised its tuition 3 percent to cover an increase in overhead costs, such as utilities and transportation, and decided the school could not raise salaries as well, said Travis Crutchfield, the school's administrator.

"I think these schools are preparing for challenging times ahead," said Rachel Faulkner, chief operating officer of the Association of Independent Schools of Greater Washington, which represents 84 private nonprofit schools in Maryland, Virginia, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania. "But they've been able to kind of weather these situations in the past and benefit from long-range and contingency planning."

At Clinton Christian, which was founded in 1966, their effort to raise money for teachers has included smaller fundraising events, such as a school fundraising night at Chick-fil-A restaurants and a large teacher appreciation bazaar planned for December.

A first-year teacher at Clinton Christian makes about $30,000 per year, compared with about $43,000 for a starting teacher in Prince George's County Public Schools.

"This is a labor of love, and they do more than we're able to compensate them for," said Peter C. Frimpong, the school's administrator of education. "That is the reason they are helping us to show appreciation for the work they do in this ministry."

Frimpong said the economic downturn has not affected the school's enrollment, which has an annual tuition of $6,775. The school has 555 students in kindergarten through the 12th grade.

Faulkner said the association is not aware of a declining enrollment in area private schools.

Faulkner said schools are currently "assessing long-term economic scenarios and how it affects their budgets, and of course being sensitive to the needs of their families."

The county schools' enrollment is down slightly since last year, according to county schools' enrollment data, but the number of students entering from private and religious schools has increased.

Based on a Sept. 30 enrollment count, 1,852 students entered the school system from private or religious schools. That number is up slightly from the 2007-2008 school year, when 1,835 students transferred from private school during the entire school year. In the 2006-2007 school year, 1,601 students transferred in from private schools, according to enrollment data.

The data does not include students who transferred from private or religious schools in other countries.

At Elizabeth Seton High School in Bladensburg, an all-girls Catholic high school, enrollment has increased in the last few years, including a 6 percent increase from last school year to this school year. Generally, about 1 percent of the school's students leave annually due to financial reasons, and school officials said they have not seen a bump in that number this year.

Sister Virginia Ann Brooks, the school's president, said they have not seen a significant increase in families having difficulty paying tuition, though there have been a few facing financial troubles. The school opened in 1959.

"I think as the year goes on, we will probably find more of that. We know what the situation is out there; we will continue to do our best to help those in financial need as much as we can," Sister Brooks said.

About 35 percent of the school's 638 students receive some form of financial aid, based on the student's need and the available funds. Sister Brooks said the school is currently appealing to donors for more contributions to meet the expected increase in demand.

"It's something we're looking at seriously to try to build up funds that we have to offer to people," she said.

Some private schools have already fallen victim to financial woes. In June 2007, the Archdiocese of Washington closed St. Margaret of Scotland School in Seat Pleasant due to financial problems and declining enrollment.

With only 33 students in pre-kindergarten through the sixth grade, The Mitchellville School in Bowie has also not seen its students leave, but is preparing if it faces a budget crunch in the future. If necessary, the school could cut back on its after-school programs. Tuition at the math, science and technology school, founded in 2002, is $11,000.

With such a small student body, Frances Luckett, the head of school, said the school is used to doing more with less. She said parents see the value of their children's education when they come to visit the school and see the successes of the school's graduates.

"They want their children to remain here. If they're cutting back, they're cutting back on other things," Luckett said.

E-mail Megan King at mking@gazette.net.