JOINT COMMUNIQUE FROM SAINT PAUL AND HOLY SAVIOUR PARISHES CONCERNING PARISH SCHOOLS
Over the past couple of years the Pastors of Holy Saviour and Saint Paul Parishes have shared a great deal of information with their parishioners and school families concerning the challenges of Catholic education. With the approval of their Pastoral Councils and Finance Committees, both Pastors asked for and received permission from the Archdiocese to begin a formal study of the future of Catholic parochial education in their parishes. The two Parishes entered into this study together with the vision of working toward something creative, secure, forward-looking and affordable for Catholic education in the Greater Norristown/Plymouth area.
A Study Committee was set up for each Parish, composed of several Parish representatives and a joint Steering Committee was also set up with representatives of both Parishes. Many meetings were engaged in so that information might be discussed and exchanged. As a result, a proposal was agreed upon to be presented to the Cardinal.
As advertised in the Bulletins of both Parishes, a public meeting was held separately in each Parish at the same time on Wednesday, October 26, in order to announce and explain the proposal. The Pastors met with the individual school faculties the day before to share this information with them first. The following is the proposal agreed upon by the Study and Steering Committees of both Parishes:
- At the end of the ‘05-’06 School Year, two moral entities, Holy Saviour School and Saint Paul School will cease to exist.
- Both Parishes will come together to form a new entity, with a new name. It will not be “ Holy Saviour/St Paul School” or “St Paul/Holy Saviour School,” as this is not a mere merger but the coming together to form something new.
- Other Parishes will be free to take advantage of this new school in the future, if they wish.
- Since this is a new entity, the present teachers in both schools who wish to do so, will have to reapply for positions in this new school.
- Primarily because the present St Paul School building is of a more realistic size and easier to maintain for the number of students we are looking at (even with the addition of another Parish or two) this new structure will use the present St Paul School building. The students will continue to have access to Monsignor Delia Hall and Holy Saviour Parish Gym for activities.
- As mentioned so many times, the separate identity of each Parish remains the same. In fact, a Parish can often move forward in an even stronger manner when the financial burden of subsidizing a Parish School is brought into a more realistic budget scheme.
- Each Parish will continue to support and subsidize, according to its ability, participating Parish families who wish to send their children to a Catholic school.
- Now that this phase of extensive study and planning has been done, we ask the cooperation of our parishes and school families to ensure the success of this exciting and forward-looking plan for quality, affordable and stable Catholic education in the Greater Norristown/Plymouth area!