Shadow of the Diocese's Bankruptcy Doesn't Dampen Spirits at Mater Dei, by Chris Moran, Union-Tribune, September 3, 2007

Shadow of the Diocese's Bankruptcy Doesn't Dampen Spirits at Mater Dei

By Chris Moran
Union-Tribune
September 3, 2007

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/education/20070903-9999-1m3materdei.html

CHULA VISTA – At every turn, there's something in South County's new Catholic high school that wasn't in the old: echoes from a theater's lobby, gleaming whiteboards to catch images from ceiling projectors, the cool caress of air conditioning.

Mater Dei Catholic High School, which opens tomorrow, also has a bigger and better version of almost everything the old campus had. There's a chapel that seats 200, a bowl-style football stadium and a dozen science labs.

Incoming sophomores got their books and readied themselves for the start of school during orientation at Mater Dei Catholic High School last week. About 750 students will attend this year.
Photo by Eduardo Contreras / Union-Tribune

As recently as five months ago, it was unclear whether Mater Dei would open. The Catholic Diocese of San Diego built the $80 million campus while facing about 150 lawsuits alleging the sexual abuse of children by priests.

The diocese filed for bankruptcy in February after four years of unsuccessful settlement talks. A ruling by a federal bankruptcy judge in April allowed the diocese to borrow $14 million to finish Mater Dei.

Tomorrow, the emphasis shifts from courtroom to classroom when 750 students show up for the first day of school. Their arrival completes a pilgrimage from a shabby campus in the south San Diego neighborhood of Egger Highlands to the splendor of 52 acres in Otay Ranch.

They leave behind 47 years of history at Marian Catholic High School, but they also leave behind leaky roofs, cramped classrooms, a quagmire of a football field and walls that would crumble, as one administrator joked, if the termites stopped holding hands.

The bankruptcy has followed them. On Thursday, the judge is scheduled to rule on whether to throw out the bankruptcy. The diocese has offered to settle the lawsuits for $95 million.

Johanna Rhein (left) and Camile Alvarado, who will be sophomores, hugged during orientation at Mater Dei in Chula Vista last week. The school opens tomorrow.

Mater Dei President Tom Beecher called any speculation that the school could be sold to pay victims "far-fetched" and said it is his understanding that the plaintiffs don't want diocese schools closed. Beecher said he considered the judge's ruling in April the point of no return.

"When I lose sleep, it's about what light switch isn't working. It's not about whether we're going to lose the asset," Beecher said.

Students checking in for orientation last week knew about the bankruptcy but said they figure their school is in the clear now that it is built and open.

"Where else are we going to go? Our other school is going to be sold, too," sophomore Vanessa Vargas, 15, said after she had stashed a pile of textbooks in her new locker.

The diocese expects to sell the Marian property as part of its bankruptcy plan.

MATER DEI FACTS

• A new, 52-acre Catholic high school in the Otay Ranch area of Chula Vista opens tomorrow.

• The Diocese of San Diego built the school at a cost of $80 million.

• The campus replaces Marian Catholic High School in the south San Diego neighborhood of Egger Highlands. Marian closed in June after 47 years.

• The projected enrollment for 2007-08 is 750. Mater Dei eventually plans to expand to 2,200 students.

What was more on students' minds was the size of the campus. It's 2? times bigger than Marian's footprint. Students said they'll have to show up a tad earlier to avoid tardies, and there won't be as much dawdling between classes, which students have to find in one of 14 unnumbered buildings that have names such as LaSalle, Loyola, Siena and Seton halls.

They raved about the football stadium and the gym. One student joyfully shouted, "I love Jesus!"

The snack bar is more expensive, and students can't pay in pesos like they did at Marian, but the selection is wider.

There's a performing arts center and a music room, which Marian did not have, and there are nine more science labs than at Marian.

As history teacher Michael Hall put it, Marian was "state-of-the-art 1982." Mater Dei's storage space, built-in projectors, wiring for the Internet and larger rooms are big advances over the old campus.

Mater Dei plans to emphasize science, with an academy program for advanced students and a new environmental science Advanced Placement class. The Scripps Research Institute, the University of California San Diego and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory will send mentors to Mater Dei and offer internships to students.

Tuition is $9,962 a year; about one-quarter of Mater Dei students receive financial aid. Beecher said that because the school supports itself through tuition and fundraising, it's unlikely that the diocese bankruptcy would affect tuition or the school's ability to offer financial aid.

It's possible that the public relations fallout from the legal controversies has affected enrollment at a campus built for 2,200 students, Beecher said. But logistics are a bigger factor, he said. Mater Dei is still getting the word out that the school is ready, and the completion of the South Bay Expressway later this year is expected to deliver new East County students who currently would face a discouraging commute.

The bankruptcy might come up in current-events discussions, but it won't affect the school's day-to-day operations, teachers say.

"For me it's a matter of faith," English teacher Danielle Delahunty said. "There's a great spirit here that this is supposed to happen. This is God's will."

Library researcher Merrie Monteagudo contributed to this report.

Chris Moran: (619) 498-6637; chris.moran@uniontrib.com