Dear Parishioners,
St. Jane Frances has been a great school. I don’t think there’s a better one in the Archdiocese. From it’s inception 72 years ago in 1948 with 3 grades and 105 students under the leadership of 3 School Sisters of Notre Dame, the school grew into one of the largest and finest in the Archdiocese.
When I arrived here in August 2009, the enrollment
for the 2008–2009 year was 568. But the stock market crashed in
September 2008. It went down 771%, the biggest ever. So
people lost their jobs, and enrollment dropped by 30% (171
students).
Naturally, rumors abounded that the school would
close. That was never our intention, consideration, or even a
thought. As enrollment declined over the next 4 years, the
rumors of closure persisted, but we knew that with our
faculty and staff, we were strong, vibrant, and viable.
Since then we have had good years and bad years
financially, but overall we’ve broken even until this year
because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Still we were
determined and committed to continue.
However, while enrollment and reenrollment were
not so bad, many parents were, because of the pandemic,
reluctant to sign up for FACTS (the tuition payment plan).
By the end of June, we had approximately 80 students
signed up for FACTS and 80 not signed up. Therefore, we
would not have the funds to pay the faculty, staff, and the
other expenses of the school.
The school, as it was constituted, was no longer
viable, so we had to make a decision and let families,
faculty, and staff know as soon as possible in order to make
other arrangements for the new school year before it was
too late.
Our plan is to transition the school to a K-2 to K-4
and eliminate the K to 8 for the time being, in the hope of
rebuilding in years to come. Hopefully, that will come to
fruition in the not too distant future.
In the meantime, let us pray for all those affected, that God may comfort them in their pain and sorrow, and that good solutions will be found for all concerned.
Fr. Carl
