Private School in NJ

Maybe you want to look for a different one.
My daughter attended a Catholic school too, they were not as strict.
We did have fundraising but we have many options through the year.
They have chocolote sales, presents for Christmas, candles, etc (would count as 50% of what ever you sell) and then twice a year riffle tickets that count as 100%, and the total was only $250
Or you can give them monthly payments for a total of $250 too I think and no need to sell anything.
Also no extra fee's for the PTA, no need to change your church, in fact some kids were not even Catholic and they would accept them.
I think you still have time so look around and then make a decision.
About how good Catholic schools are above others, it depends to what you compare.
This Catholic school was way better then any public in the area, we just move to another area and the public school in here is better then the Catholic.

How are you being taken advantage of? Catholic school tuitions are typically way lower than other private schools because of all the funding from the church itself. I think Catholic schools are a huge bargain. Do they come with some stipulations and some fees? Sure. They have operating costs!! But no one is forcing you to send your children to school there. Just weigh the pros and cons of Catholic vs public and then make your choice. Remember it's a choice though so don't be resentful of things either school asks of you. Educational funding is way down. Schools need parental help. They're our children afterall.

EDIT: so you only have a problem supporting the school your son attends when the support being asked goes above what you feel like doing or contributing. All you have to do is find out what the suppport required is annually and then decide if it's worth it to you or not. Each Catholic school has different requirements. Find out what they are and add them to the tuition. If it's too much, then don't send your children there. No one is forcing you to support a school unless you choose private which then will have certain financial requirements. It's the same as them "forcing" you to pay tuition... The school is actually trying to give parents options - just give them cash or earn it somehow so parents spend time instead of more of their own money. It's up to you.

Wow, we're just right across the border and you make us sound like winers. I'm feeling alot better about our requirements at NDS in PA. Parents have to put in 30 hours of volunteer time/year or face a $5/hour fee, so that would be $150 if you don't do any volunteer hours. The only mandatory fundraiser is the Winner's Circle raffle tickets, which are $50/ticket. We either have to try and sell $600 worth or pay $500. Most of us just buy the tickets, because you have a chance to win something since there are lots of prizes like cruises, gift cards, etc. There are no mandatory meetings and you don't have to join the PTO unless you want to. We don't have to shop at a certain store, but we do have a list of store gift cards you can buy if you want to and the stores will donate to the school. The tuition is discounted according to the number of children you have, but high school has a higher tuition fee. You can even get financial aid if you qualify. Our tuition for elementary is $4,200 and for high school is $6,100 if you're catholic. (Discount for being catholic.) What's your school's tuition?

Move out of Keansburg. I am not trying to be rude...you know what I mean.

I dont like in NJ, but have seen similar things in SI while looking for Kindergarten for my son. Though from what I have seen, there are only a couple of mandatory fundraisers, which totaled about $100 as opposed to all fundraisers being mandatory

I agree with you that being forced and being told how much. Several years ago our church decided to build a new one.. They sent letters telling each
family how much to donate! This was based on weekly envelopes. We
gave what we wanted to. Also, the new church instituted a new program.
You can have you weekly donation and other donations automatically deducted from your checking account. That did not go over well with me
either. My kids went to public school. We did think about catholic school .
Do you know anyone who sends their kids to the same school. I would think they give offfer you more.