School Board Update - 9/13/23

 
 

Dear St. Roch Families,

Many of you have inquired about St. Roch School’s plans for the future as we navigate through All Things New.  We would like to take this opportunity to update you on what we know, what we don’t know, current efforts, and what you can do to help. 

Background:

In May 2023, the Parish of St. Roch received notice from the Archdiocese of Saint Louis that as part of All Things New, the Parish would be subsumed into the Christ the King Parish.  The Archbishop denied the subsequent St. Roch Parish appeal, so the Parish has appealed to the Vatican.  Until the Vatican decision is provided, our funds and our organizations remain independent of Christ the King Parish. 

 Decisions for school consolidations and closures were not part of the Parish decisions. Several sources have told us that the Archdiocese will release an announcement on schools in September or October 2023.  In the case of All Things New school decisions, The Archbishop of Saint Louis is the first and effectively the final arbiter of the future of our school.

 The role of a school board in the Archdiocesan system is different than board roles in private or public schools. We can only serve as advisors, and final decisions rest with the Parish priest or the Archdiocese  With that said, we have not been idle as we wait for the decisions of the Archdiocese.  Monsignor Turek, the Pastor of Christ the King, has assumed the role of administrator for Saint Roch. However, he is now the pastor of five different parishes communities, so his time is limited.  As a result, every administrative matter of the Saint Roch Parish and School has fallen to volunteers. This includes: contracting with housekeeping services, remediating damage from spring rains, addressing gaps in tuition payments, etc.

What We Know:

Proven Track Record: St. Roch School has a proud track record of educating students of all faiths and backgrounds.  We challenge our students with an above-grade level curriculum and encourage them to strive for personal and academic excellence.  Our high-caliber faculty implements proven interactive learning approaches to educate the whole child in a safe environment while promoting personal accountability, service, and mentoring of others.  St. Roch graduates thrive in Catholic, magnate and public high schools. 

 Financial Risk: St. Roch School, like almost all Parish schools, operates at a deficit that necessitates supplemental funding from the Parish or private donors.  The gap between tuition revenues and costs is larger for St. Roch than many other schools, including Christ the King.  This is a risk for our school. To continue, we must pursue new opportunities to grow and fund the school.

 Opportunities with Christ the King School: St. Roch School has always maintained a positive relationship with Christ the King School.  We have similar philosophies, close proximity, and many shared CYC sports teams.   Regardless of the final decisions on the St. Roch Parish, the All Things New model presents an opportunity to build a partnership with Christ the King that accentuates our strengths and shares resources to reduce some overhead costs.

 Physical Plant: The Archdiocese has been promoting primary school models that have approximately 350-400 students.   Combined, Christ The King School and St. Roch School enrollment is less than 400.  Neither physical plant is configured to support the combined student bodies. The St. Roch School plant is larger and has newer infrastructure, such as our recently added HVAC System.

Current Efforts

The St. Roch School Board and volunteers are engaging the School Board of Christ the King and Monsignor Turek to identify how we may continue in a financially sustainable model that maintains the shared mission of both schools.  We are initiating proposals for the Arch Diocese regardless of their initial school announcements.  The factors for arch diocese decision making are not clear, so we are preparing for multiple scenarios. 

 We are also preparing so that we can react to the archdiocese school announcement as effectively as possible.  We understand that the uncertainty is not ideal and are doing all we can to help drive positive conversations and creative strategies to continue St. Roch School.  The following is a rough timeline of activity:

 Now:

  • The board and volunteers are engaging in strategy and planning sessions so we can improve our position going forward and approach Christ the King with strong value propositions.

  • We continue to tighten financial management and grow our student populations.

  • St. Roch School continues to deliver a strong academic environment to St. Roch students.

  • We intend to formally solicit parent and teacher feedback. With that in mind, we cannot say what form that request for feedback will take, but we intend to bring this to Monsignor’s attention. Please note that every step of this process will require Monsignor Turek’s consent, and the manner in which we gather feedback from school parents will require his participation.

 September/October:

  • We are meeting with the Christ the King School Board to discuss opportunities and prepare a joint position for Monsignor Turek to advocate.

  • The archbishop will announce decision on schools. These decisions could range from St. Roch continuing with status quo (unlikely) to announcing closure one or both schools.

 Post Announcement:  Throughout all of this, we continue to discern a path forward for our school. Once the Archbishop has made his announcement, we will be engaging with both families and staff quickly so that we can have a proposal ready before year end, and provide certainty before families and staff have to make a decision about the 2024-25 school year.

What you can do to help

First and foremost, we encourage everyone to remain part of our community.  We continue to deliver excellence in the school and that should not be overshadowed by the All Things New Process.    

 We also understand that every family has different ways they can contribute based on their interests,  areas of expertise, availability and skills. We encourage your participation and are certain that many school parents have specific ideas about how the school can move forward. If you do, please let us know how you would like to spearhead such an effort.  Some of the areas of need we have identified include:

  1. Improving communications;

  2. Physical plant maintenance and improvements at the school;

  3. Teacher support;

  4. Fundraising and alternate funding approaches (grants, tax incentives, academic partnerships, etc);

  5. Promoting the school to perspective families;

  6. Supporting existing and potential extra curriculars (sports, clubs, scouts, etc);

  7. Volunteer coordination; and,

  8. Event planning.

 

We hope the above provides more context for the current environment and look forward to a great 2023-2024 academic year and beyond.

 

Sean McGroarty

President, Saint Roch School Board

mcgroartys@gmail.com