Prince of Peace School

MESSAGE FROM THE PASTOR

Perhaps you were at one of the Masses on the weekend of October 10 and 11 when, as part of my homily, I addressed two rumors about Prince of Peace School.  If not, let me tell you what was said.

The first rumor said the school was closing at the end of this academic year.  The truth is that no plan exists for the school to close at the end of this year or the next.  Fr. Quinlan, Secretary of Education for the Diocese of Harrisburg, visited with the parish leadership on August 5th to let us know we had two years to make the school financially viable.  The school is the largest ministry of the parish and this is true in any parish with a school.  Our problem is that the parish is being asked to give more money to the school than it has.  Consequently, the parish has to borrow money from the diocese every year to pay the school bills.  Since Ms. DePaulis operates the school within a very tight budget, we cannot spend any less money to educate the students.  At the same time we cannot keep increasing our parish debt to the Diocese with no end in sight.

We are therefore challenged to raise money from sources other than our parishioners.  The Development Committee is charged with coming up with a way to raise that money, keep tuition affordable and meet the expenses of the school.  The parish leadership will review their proposal and offer feedback.