The Sacramento Catholic Diocese is laying out the plan for the future of Mercy High School, and the fundraising efforts of the Friends of Mercy

In a letter from John Kenny, board chair of the Catholic Schools of Northern California, the diocese explained it supports the community’s effort to keep the school open. It is the only Catholic high school in the Northstate.

“We are extremely pleased to announce that we intend to keep Mercy High School open in its current location, as a diocesan high school, next school year, so long as we can meet certain milestones,” Kenny wrote.

“One of the milestones the community must reach is raising $200,000 by March 5th.”

The letter goes on to say:

“…In order for this plan to keep Mercy High open next year to work, we must meet the following conditions:

  • “All pledges must be realized by the time of the town hall on March 5. We want to state clearly that these donations will be used for the operation of Mercy High School as a diocesan school next year. We will use this year to work with the community in getting Mercy onto a new path.
  • “Donations should be made directly to Mercy High School. Checks can be made to the high school with a notation in the memo line, “for the 20-21 academic year.” Donors may further designate their funds for “current campus only” if they do not wish to support a K – 12th grade model. We will put all donations into a special account, and if we cannot operate the school at its current campus next year, all donations will be returned as directed by the donor. In order to present a realistic plan to the community on March 5th, all donation monies must be in the office by that date.
  • “As a diocesan school, all staff and program decisions will be made by the school administration. We are not at liberty to discuss final staffing for next year, but be assured we will continue to have the highly qualified faculty necessary to deliver a full A – G high school curriculum.
  • “There must be continuing open, honest communication among all stakeholders in order to ensure the future of Catholic high school in the North State.

“Should all of the requirements be met, we will move forward with keeping Mercy open with the goal of using next year to create a truly sustainable model for the future. If we are not able to accomplish all of the necessary donation and enrollment conditions, we will then have only two options: 1) We will be forced to close completely, or 2) Move to a K – 12th grade model on the Sacred Heart campus (which we prefer to option 1). Our registration form will ask families if they are open to a K-12 model if we are unable to achieve our enrollment numbers or realize the pledges that have been committed.

“We understand that there is still a lot of work ahead of us, this year and next. At the town hall, we will talk more about our plans for the curriculum and extracurriculars next year, and our vision going forward.

“We will make the final announcement and begin open registration on March 5th, at 7 p.m.”

The above comes from a Feb. 24 story on KRCR-TV channel 7