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April 15, 2019
Frank Dunnigan
Phoenix, Arizona
To this longtime San Franciscan, Star of the Sea’s fate is troubling on many levels.
The problem extends beyond one pastor’s actions. The schools superintendent and others within the Archdiocese surely have access to long-range plans/projections for every single Catholic school – curriculum, anticipated enrollment numbers, plus possible closure/lease/sale scenarios.
As local Catholic schools are shut down, there has been a clear pattern of higher-cost private institutions purchasing/leasing vacated buildings – Corpus Christi, Most Holy Redeemer, St. Agnes, St. Charles, St. Elizabeth, St. Emydius, St. James-Boys, St. Joseph, Star of the Sea Academy, and more.
A brand-new replacement school for St. Mary’s was constructed on Kearny Street in 2011, but in a distressing lack of foresight, it was closed just five years later due to low enrollment – with a private school now occupying the building. Will Star’s $300,000-plus science lab – built in 2011 after parishioner/parent/student fundraising efforts – also go to some wealthy private institution?
As funds continue to be raised for earthquake retrofits (one school’s recently stated goal is a whopping $12 million), the time has come for answers:
1) What is the projected enrollment/future viability for each Catholic school at a time when San Francisco’s student-age population is shrinking?
2) What is today’s Archdiocesan business model – sustaining Catholic school education activities or simply offering high-value, parishioner-improved real estate to private institutions for financial gain?
All of us who continue supporting San Francisco Catholic schools financially are entitled to such forthright disclosures at once.