St. Paul's to benefit from sale of SPM

The Diocese of Worcester announced today that it will establish a Saint Paul Diocesan Jr. Sr. High School Fund as a result of the sale of the former St. Peter-Marian Jr/Sr High School.

The original high school property at 781 Grove St. was conveyed to Goddard/Homestead, Inc. on Dec. 30, 2021 for $4.75 M. The diocese received $4,495,840 after various fees and expenses. Goddard/Homestead announced that it intends to use the site for senior housing.

According to Paul Schasel, director of fiscal affairs for the diocese, proceeds will first satisfy the outstanding St. Peter-Marian loan for the purchase and renovation of 751 Grove St. to operate as a junior high in 2003, as well as outstanding Holy Name loans for a wind turbine and roof replacements.  The proceeds will also satisfy the outstanding debt Saint Paul incurred when investing nearly $1.5 million into its physical plant and operations ahead of its inaugural opening in August of 2020.

In recent years the diocese had already forgiven the outstanding balances for the original construction loans with the Diocesan Expansion Fund for both the Granite and Grove Street high schools when they were built in the 1960s.
  
“I am pleased to know these former diocesan assets will continue to provide a material benefit to residents of our local community,” said Bishop McManus.  “The use of the net proceeds of these sales to benefit Saint Paul Diocesan Jr./Sr. High School will be in keeping with our overall objectives for the school merger process, of which St. Peter-Marian was a part.”

In December 2019, Bishop McManus announced the merger of the two Worcester diocesan junior/senior high schools, St. Peter-Marian (founded in 1976) and Holy Name (founded in 1945), in order to form a newly constituted diocesan junior/senior high school.  After a careful, consultative review, Bishop McManus announced in March 2020 that the new school would be named in honor of St. Paul, the patron saint of the Diocese of Worcester, and that Saint Paul Diocesan Jr/Sr High School would be located at the former Holy Name campus on Granite Street.

“School mergers are never easy endeavors,” said Bishop McManus. “Still, our diocesan efforts to renew and strengthen Catholic, co-ed education for a new generation of junior and senior high students are meeting success. With the net proceeds of these sales restricted to a designated fund for Saint Paul, our stewardship of this vital educational ministry takes on a new dimension.  This is a new era.”

“As we move ahead, it’s exciting to know that we have a financial fresh-start and are debt-free,” said Michael Clark, Head of School for Saint Paul. “Of course, it’s a tremendous budgetary relief to be debt-free.  Very few tuition-based schools can say that of themselves.  But more importantly for Saint Paul, every tuition and fundraising dollar can now go directly into meeting student and programming needs and not paying down or servicing debt.”

Mr. Clark continued, “Now our school can focus all its financial efforts on the present and the future.  And, we’re able to do so by building on the legacy that has been left to us by the dedicated religious and lay educators who served generations of families in so many of our Catholic schools. This will be particularly helpful as Saint Paul continues to mature and grow as Worcester’s only Catholic co-ed high school.  The establishment of this restricted fund means the bishop is standing behind all of us when we say to families that we are committed for years to come to the best education for their sons and daughters.”
 
“Our intention is to treat this restricted fund like an endowment as much as possible,” noted Mr. Clark.  “While it is wonderful news to be talking about nearly $2 million, we didn’t win the lottery.  We have taken prudent and measured steps in right-sizing our educational model over the past couple years.  This fund is one of the many fruits of this ongoing effort.  Today, all private and parochial schools need financial support beyond tuition income.  Now, growing this restricted fund through philanthropy is our next step.”
 
In its first two years, Saint Paul has weathered the challenges presented by COVID, but the pandemic also put added financial strains on many families who needed more assistance to commit to enrolling at Saint Paul. 

“The pandemic has held back potential students from experiencing all the great things Saint Paul has to offer,” said David Perda, superintendent of Catholic schools.  “If more options become available for financial aid, especially from future efforts in fundraising and institutional support, we can offer more families, including many of the new immigrant families to the area, a great education.”

Bishop McManus added, “It is my fervent prayer that people in our community who are a product of a former parochial or diocesan high school will see Saint Paul as the continuation of that personal and life-shaping experience.  One’s old high school isn’t just a memory.  Catholic education is a continuum. Whether one attended Ascension HS, Assumption Prep, Sacred Heart Academy, St. Casimir HS, St. Mary HS, St. Stephen HS, Holy Name HS, St. Peter, Marian, or St. Peter-Marian, the blessings received from that experience can be brought to bear at St. Paul for a new generation of young people.”