Battle to save school revitalizes Oak Harbor parish community |
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Written by LAURIE STEVENS, Chronicle Writer
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Thursday, 06 March 2008 19:00 |
OAK HARBOR—The news was grim for Oak Harbor St. Boniface School five years ago.
After years of declining enrollment, the Catholic school in Ottawa County was down to 41 students in kindergarten through the fifth grade, with the parish subsidizing about 70 percent of its operating costs.
Financially strapped and with no reason to expect a turnaround, it was announced the school would likely close by the end of the 2003-2004 school year or the following school year.
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| Oak Harbor St. Boniface students play outside the school during recess. (Chronicle photo by Laurie Stevens) |
At hearing the news, Millie Greggila recalls feeling pained by the idea of her two youngest children not having the opportunity to attend St. Boniface as her three older children had. She and her husband, Greg, swiftly reacted by inviting the rest of the school parents to their home to find a way to save St. Boniface.
Thus began the St. Boniface School Support Group, a grassroots organization that has grown into the fundraising powerhouse behind the survival of Catholic education in Oak Harbor.
Fish fries, golf outings, garage sales, bingo and the parish festival are just some of the fundraising projects the school community has taken on in the past four years to reduce the parish subsidy to less than 30 percent of the operating costs.
“Every family in this school is involved in some way, shape or form,” says Mrs. Greggila. “Even if it wasn’t what we were good at, it’s what we were willing to learn to do.”
“Everybody’s got a talent that will fit a niche that will help the school,” adds Anne Mulligan, who continues to help the group though her son has graduated.
A plan and a prayer
Mrs. Greggila says the parent group began its efforts in early 2004 “with a plan and a prayer.”
Researching marketing and fundraising strategies, they developed a business plan for reducing the parish subsidy to the school and proposed it to the parish finance council. The parents initially offered to raise two-thirds of the yearly operating costs for the school — $180,000.
The council reduced that goal to $90,000 and pledged the parish would kick in the other third of expenses not covered by tuition. They also asked the parent group to take on the task of raising enrollment.
The St. Boniface School Support Group presented its plan to Jack Altenburger, superintendent of Catholic Schools, and he advised Bishop Leonard P. Blair to keep the school open.
Mr. Altenburger explains he based his recommendation on the commitment he saw from the parents and the fortunate timing of a bequest from St. Boniface parishioner Dorothy Gstalder, who left $175,000 to the school. The bequest itself would not have been enough to operate the school for long, but Mr. Altenburger says it provided a safety net if the fundraising efforts fell short.
“They said, ‘give us a chance to save the school,’ ” he says. “The bequest that came in really saved the day and allowed us to give them that chance.”
Growing enrollment
Along with the challenge of raising $90,000, St. Boniface parents were faced with the task of quickly recruiting new students for the fall of 2004 to a school rumored to be closing.
All new and returning families were required to sign a letter promising their continued support and to provide $500 toward their tuition for the following year.
Principal Kathryn Daney still marvels at the number of families who took that leap of faith, allowing St. Boniface to open the 2004-2005 year with 52 students.
Thanks to a marketing push that includes yard signs, direct mailings and a personal approach to recruiting, enrollment has slowly continued to rise. This year St. Boniface has 60 students in kindergarten through fifth grade.
Making the school more visible to the community has been an important part of the effort, according to Mrs. Mulligan.
Having a core group to convince the community the school is not closing also has a “positive snowball effect,” says Mr. Altenburger. “By now, the feeling is pretty strong in Oak Harbor and that area that the school is in much better shape,” he adds. “If you can convince people that the school is viable, they’ll send their kids there.”
Reaching out to new families
Mrs. Daney attributes the growth of the school to the hard work of the parents, who have reached out to families from Oak Harbor and surrounding school districts.
She notes St. Boniface is located in an area with an excellent public school system, making it all the more necessary for the school to distinguish itself by the faith element.
“They carry that character forward into their life experience,” adds Mrs. Mulligan.
Many non-Catholic families have also discovered the value of St. Boniface, and nearly one-third of the students this year are not Catholic.
Gary and Barb Finke, members of Oak Harbor Methodist Church, sent their son, R. Jay, to St. Boniface, and the family remains involved at the school 10 years after he graduated. Mrs. Finke works as a secretary and lunchtime monitor, and Gary and R. Jay teach computer classes.
Mrs. Finke cites some of the qualities she appreciates about St. Boniface — a small teacher-student ratio, good communication with parents and, not least of all, the ability to pray in school.
“St. Boniface is just so cool,” she says. “Everyone cares about everyone, everyone looks after each other.”
All students know one another in the school of 44 families, and parents describe them as being like brothers and sisters.
Father David Ritchie, who became pastor of St. Boniface last June, calls the accomplishments of the St. Boniface Support Group nothing short of amazing.
“They used their money, their time, their effort to a hundred times over what most people would do to make it work,” he says.
“What that does is: it isn’t just a school you’ve created now with 60 kids,” he continues. “It’s a whole attitude you’ve developed among the people.”
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Last Updated on Monday, 22 September 2008 09:15 |
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