Mother Catherine Spalding School in Helen

More than 200 people attended a public meeting Sunday, Jan. 4 on the future of Mother Catherine Spalding School (MCSS) in Helen. The Archdiocese of Washington parochial school has 125 students and the archdiocese has threatened to close it if it doesn’t attain 150 students for next school year. The school just celebrated its 50th anniversary.

St. Mary’s County Commissioner Tom Jarboe (R- District 1) attended the meeting and made a plea for the school’s continuance at Tuesday’s commissioner meeting. He said the future of the school should not only be of interest to the parents of students there but also the greater community. He observed that if the school closes the taxpayers of the county will have to divvy up $12,000 for each student who transfers to a public school.

“They are going through a very difficult time,” Jarboe said.

But the president of the MCSS Parent-Teacher Partnership (PTP) Kristie Norris says the rumors of the school’s closing and the indecisiveness of the archdiocese to support the future of the school are interfering with attracting new students. “Kids won’t come if you continue to tell us you are going to close it,” she said.

The PTP sent a seven-page letter dated November 12, 2014 to Washington Archbishop Cardinal Donald Wuerl. The letter asks for a five-year commitment from the archdiocese for the continuation of MCSS. The letter says “…personal assurances on behalf of the Archdiocese will reassure the prospective and existing families we are moving forward with confidence. We have weathered the recent economic downturn and are a growing county and allowed marketing efforts will build enrollment – this is evidences in our projected Pre-K enrollment for next year.”

The school in the past had to overcome a significant embezzlement of school monies. An insurance settlement placed some monies in an archdiocese endowment fund which now totals $650,000. The PTP letter asks for release of some of those monies to help support the continuing operation of the school.

The letter also calls for the removal of the schools’ administrator, Fr. Keith Woods of St. Joseph’s Parish, who the PTP members say has been an obstacle to fundraising efforts. “We, as a community, question his belief in the value and the future of Mother Catherine Spalding School,” the letter states.

Norris says the PTP has not received a response to the letter although they have been in communication with one of Cardinal Wuerl subordinates, Dr. Thomas Burnford. She said they are not sure if all of their concerns have been relayed to Cardinal Wuerl.

Norris attended MCSS and has a child attending there now. She expects a decision on the future of the school shortly because the school has to begin accepting enrollment requests for the next school year by the end of January.

The Archdiocese of Washington issued the following statement in response to an inquiry by the Bay Net: “Thank you for contacting us about Mother Catherine Spalding School. There was a letter sent to the MCS School community on Dec. 3 on the financial challenges faced by the school as well as addressing some of the concerns shared by several members of the MCS School community. The letter was sent as the latest update on the ongoing financial challenges faced by the school — the first meeting that the school’s canonical administrator held to disclose the school’s financial and enrollment challenges dates back four years to October 2010 and there have been several meetings since then to update the school community. The December letter was signed by the archdiocese’s secretary for education and the interim superintendent for schools, as well as Mother Catherine Spalding School’s canonical administrator and school principal.

“At this time, there is no new information to share on the status of the school.”

To find out more information about the community concerns for the school’s future, including a copy of the letter sent to Cardinal Wuerl, go to the Friends of Mother Catherine Spalding School website at: http://www.mcss2015.com/

Contact Dick Myers at news@thebaynet.com