Let The Record Show....

Since it appears as though Northeast Catholic, as we know it, will cease to operate after June, 2010, I thought I’d jot down some facts and figures that may or may not be commonly known. Note: If any of the following is wrong or misrepresented, I’m sure I’ll hear from people, and corrections will be made at a later date.

Timeline
One big happy family....
1993 – The Office of Catholic Education (OCE) gathered the school administrators and alumni association together and told them that as long as the entire school system was making a profit, no one school would be held accountable for, or closed, due to their debt.

Promises, Promises.....
2003 – Apparently, someone forgot about the promise made in 1993, as the school system was still running at a profit, yet the OCE sent a bill to Northeast Catholic for payment of their debt. This “bill” was North’s debt for the year, which means the school spent more than it took in through tuition, fees, and fundraisers. That debt was satisfied by a generous donation by the Alumni Association’s “Save North Catholic” fund.

Hope on the Horizon....
2006 – With the addition of the NC IT Academy, the OCE promised North that they would have 5 years to get the program off the ground and start making money, which would be given to the school in the form of tuition assistance. I wasn’t at that meeting, but the NC administration was either told, or got the impression, that North would be safe for, at least, 5 years. From what I understand, there are nearly 100 students currently enrolled in the evening school at the IT Academy. What that means is that profits are being realized, despite what the OCE claimed in the newspapers. But, moving forward, we’re not exactly sure what will happen with this program.

Generous Alumni.....
2003 – 2009 – From 2003, through 2009, when the OCE started demanding a debt payment, the Alumni Association, through the Save North Catholic Fund has given MORE than what was asked for by the school to cover this debt. What this means is that North Catholic carried NO DEBT between the years 2003 and 2009, thanks to the good folks at the alumni association and the contributors to those programs.

Screw You, Pay Me!
Spring, 2009 – The archdiocese demands payment of the 2008-2009 debt. The alumni association, as well as the school administration, was told that if the debt (and it was a big number) wasn’t paid immediately, they would be forced to close the school in June, 2009. Well, the debt was once again paid, mostly by the Save North Catholic Fund, and the school did not close in June, 2009.

All Bets Are Off....
Oct, 2009 – Since the archdiocese kept it’s promise to not close North in June, 2009, it appears that announcing the closing fourth months later would be a better idea. This announcement came without warning and as a total shock to the North Catholic (and Cardinal Dougherty) communities.

More Hope, More Despair.....
Oct, 2009 – March, 2010 – A group of prominent NC alumni, with the help of the Jesuits, as well as the alumni association, began a feasibility study to re-open North in September, 2010, as a Cristo Rey Network school. This feasibility study had that approval of the Cardinal, and help from the Jesuits in Philadelphia. In March, 2010, it was determined that opening the “new” school could not occur in September, 2010, as planned. Some of the planning committeemen approached the archdiocese to ask if they would keep the school open for the 2010-2011 school year, as an archdiocesan school, while the transition to the Cristo Rey school took place. The group promised to raise funds enough to cover not only the 2009-2010 school year, but the 2010-2011 school year. What this meant was that keeping the school open for one more year, during the transition, would not cost the archdiocese a dime. There were no grand delusions that the school would be open for one more year for any other reason than to transition the school to the Cristo Rey model. In the process, it would allow continuity for the current NC students, and would allow a class to graduate each year moving forward, with the only difference being that the school would be, once the 2011-2012 school year began, a Cristo Rey Network school. Regardless of the plan, and the promise to fund the debt, the archdiocese would not budge from their decision to close the school in June, 2010. You can draw your own conclusions as to why they took this stance.

Just a Personal Rant
I keep hearing the same thing, over and over again. I keep hearing that the alumni should have done something before the closing announcement. I even heard this was part of an article that a certain teachers’ union president wrote within the last month. Of course, she didn’t have a clue before she went off on her rant. The fact is, the Alumni Association, through the Northeast Catholic Alumni Memorial Scholarship program, as well as the Save North Catholic Fund, have donated over $4 million dollars to North Catholic since the early 1990’s, including over $3 million for tuition assistance, not to mention an additional $1 million towards the school’s debt and other programs since 2003.

The decision to close North wasn’t just about money. The problem is that we’re dumbfounded as the real reason for the closure. I say it “wasn’t just about money” because the school has not cost the archdiocese a dime over the past 7 years, yet the school was closed. But, one reason that it was about the money was because when the archdiocese came to the alumni, FONECHS and the school demanding money last year, they were given a big chunk of what was in the Save North Catholic Fund. And, after that, the alumni association was asked about the funds in the scholarship program. When they were told that the money in the scholarship program could not be used for the school’s debt (as per that corporation’s charter), the archdiocese must have figured that they bled the association and school of everything they had. But, as I mentioned above, they kept their promise and didn’t close the school in June, 2009. Instead, they waited 4 months and announced the closure in October, 2009. Once again, and contrary to popular belief, the school didn’t cost the archdiocese a dime in the 7 preceding years. So, it wasn’t ONLY about money, because if it were just about the money, the archdiocese would have continued with North Catholic until the debt couldn’t be paid. With North's dedicated and generous alumni, and the track record in recent years, paying the annual debt would have been a "no-brainer."

Moving forward.
As it stands now, even if a school called “Northeast Catholic High School” were to open in September, 2011 (don’t count on it with the Oblates taking the lead), it wouldn’t be until June, 2015 that the first class of seniors would graduate. My assumption is that the school would no longer have ties with the alumni association, as it would be a new and private school. You might as well call it "Joe's High School and Tackle Shop." I don’t speak for the alumni association, but I just don’t see how that organization would consider graduates of that school to be part of the Northeast Catholic Alumni Association.

Alumni Scholarships
As far as awards from the Alumni Memorial Scholarship program, there are several things currently in the works regarding current awards, as well as the future of the Scholarship Program. More information is expected on or after April 8, 2010, when the alumni association meets to sorts out some of these issues. Once that happens, I’ll post any information that I have for you.