Scroll down for Links:
- Principle Deb Waters - initial video response to closure
- UPDATED - 5/8/2020 Letter from Principal Deb Waters to families with an update.
- Letter from LCS Board of Directors
- Press Release Diocese of Harrisburg
- Diocese FAQ re: Lebanon Catholic School Closure
- News and press articles
Principal Deb Waters' Response to Closure of LC
5/8/2020 Letter from Principal Deb Waters to families with latest update
Good afternoon, families.
I am here with you not only as your principal but also as a parent, an alumna, and a member of our Lebanon Catholic family.
Please know that you and your children have been in my continued prayers.
I know as parents you are trying to make the best decisions for your families in a changing landscape.
I have felt your love, support, concern, fear, confusion, frustration, anger, and devastation. I need to update you on where we are.
A committee including the Board and experienced community members formed this week to create a plan to move Lebanon Catholic forward. Many options were explored. A request from this committee was sent to the Diocese to review a proposal that would have allowed us to remain open as a diocesan school, address the many financial concerns, and continue to explore sustainability models. Despite our best efforts, this proposal was denied last evening.
In walking the path toward keeping Catholic education in Lebanon, we now know that this avenue, of a diocesan school, is closed. Remaining a diocesan school would have required the continued financial commitment from the diocese and the parishes. The alternative is to simply stop or to seek financial independence, necessarily creating a different school model. It is my belief that preserving Catholic identity in any next step is essential, and it would require the blessing of the diocesan bishop.
While I am heartbroken at this denial, as it dismisses our staff and puts the building and property up for sale, I remain committed to continuing the conversation. I ask for your continued support and urge you to remain together.
We are LC. We are LC Strong.
Mrs. Deb (Nash) Waters Ed.S., '94 Principal, Lebanon Catholic School
I am here with you not only as your principal but also as a parent, an alumna, and a member of our Lebanon Catholic family.
Please know that you and your children have been in my continued prayers.
I know as parents you are trying to make the best decisions for your families in a changing landscape.
I have felt your love, support, concern, fear, confusion, frustration, anger, and devastation. I need to update you on where we are.
A committee including the Board and experienced community members formed this week to create a plan to move Lebanon Catholic forward. Many options were explored. A request from this committee was sent to the Diocese to review a proposal that would have allowed us to remain open as a diocesan school, address the many financial concerns, and continue to explore sustainability models. Despite our best efforts, this proposal was denied last evening.
In walking the path toward keeping Catholic education in Lebanon, we now know that this avenue, of a diocesan school, is closed. Remaining a diocesan school would have required the continued financial commitment from the diocese and the parishes. The alternative is to simply stop or to seek financial independence, necessarily creating a different school model. It is my belief that preserving Catholic identity in any next step is essential, and it would require the blessing of the diocesan bishop.
While I am heartbroken at this denial, as it dismisses our staff and puts the building and property up for sale, I remain committed to continuing the conversation. I ask for your continued support and urge you to remain together.
We are LC. We are LC Strong.
Mrs. Deb (Nash) Waters Ed.S., '94 Principal, Lebanon Catholic School
Letter from the Lebanon Catholic Board of Directors
[O]n Tuesday, April 28, Bishop Gainer notified Lebanon Catholic families via email about the closure of LC at the end of this 2019-2020 school year. [The] Bishop [cited} the financial debt and the poor enrollment as the two strikes against the school, as well as the letter from the Deanery priests requesting that the school be closed. Allow us to provide a timeline of information that was not included in Bishop's shocking announcement.
1. During May of 2019, Bishop Gainer called an emergency meeting with the LC Board including all of the Pastors of the Lebanon Deanery. At that meeting, [the] Bishop announced that LC needed to either become a K-8 school or to close entirely, due to the shrinking enrollment and financial instability. The Board members and [Lebanon Catholic Principal] Mrs. Deb Waters presented several reasons why we were confident that the ship could be turned around, as many best practices for advancement were not being employed. The diocesan staff,
Fr. Quinlan, Mr. Kaercher, Fr. Danneker, and the Bishop warned us that "the bank was closed" and that the Diocese could no longer afford to assist us if we ended the year in the red. In previous years, losses were covered by the diocese and had accumulated into an over $2 million debt. The Bishop and the [diocesan] staff, after hearing the arguments agreed to let us continue operating as a pre-K thru 12 school, as long as LC met the balanced budget for the 2019-2020 school year [that] they presented at the meeting and worked to increase enrollment.
2. During this school year, the Diocese met with Mrs. Waters and board members via phone conference to keep tabs on our progress on a monthly basis. Finances and enrollment as well as other situations especially regarding advancement efforts were closely monitored. Our advancement staff, Mrs. Waters, administration, and teachers worked tirelessly to meet these goals. New Admissions events were added including fall and spring open houses, the Blue and White Gala was reorganized and executed raising $70,000, the donor database was cleaned up, Alumni Agents were established, and annual giving as of March was just shy of $400,000.
3. This spring the Diocese announced its bankruptcy. Therefore, all churches and schools in the Diocese could count on less financial assistance from Harrisburg.
4. The Stay-at-Home order from Gov. Wolf this spring was another unexpected blow to our school and our parishes, as fundraisers were cancelled and weekly collections significantly decreased. At our April 7 meeting, our priests expressed significant concern about their inability to pay their subsidy to the school. They were being stretched thin and in some parishes, the LC subsidy is a substantial fraction of their budget. At this time, the parishes and school applied for the SBA PPP Loan (small business loan) to assist with 2.5 months of payroll.
The most frustrating part of this chain of events is that LC was on course to end the school year in the black. End of the year financial projections were promising. Enrollment predictions looked healthy for the next school year with 53 new student inquiries. We had jumped over every hurdle that the diocese requested of Lebanon Catholic.
Bishop Gainer, at his visit to Lebanon Catholic even referred to our financial progress as nothing short of miraculous. Mrs. Waters and the advancement team had a campaign prepared to provide a final push to end the year financially strong. Tragically, LC never had a chance to implement this campaign, because the closure announcement blindsided the board and administration as much as the community.
We are stunned that the Diocese didn't meet with the LC Board so that we could discuss alternatives to this drastic move.
Over the summer, it's possible that the board and community members could have created another plan to raise money that would no longer be coming to the school from church subsidies. But that chance was never given.
Lebanon Catholic has been the Beacon on the Hill for 161 years. Thousands of wonderful graduates, several priests, a Bishop, and a Cardinal, can proudly call Lebanon Catholic their Alma Mater. Lebanon Catholic is a massive family, bonded together by a love for Jesus, Mary and the Catholic faith. No one can ever take that away from any of us, even if the building is closed.
Please continue to pray for our students, faculty and staff, who are facing a future that looks different than anticipated.
Remember Mrs. Water's words from her Easter reflection, "We are Resurrection people." Let's go live our faith. God Bless.