Archdiocese of Los Angeles Closing Catholic High School in Face of Money Problems, Declining Enrollment
California Catholic Daily
October 10, 2007
http://www.calcatholic.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?id=7c9cfa87-e521-4baa-9482-c2a55d6b3e5e
Citing "a decade-long decline in enrollment combined with increased operating costs" and the "severe financial challenges" it faces, the Los Angeles archdiocese has "accelerated the decision" to close Daniel Murphy High School.
In Oct. 8 archdiocesan news release, the "severe financial challenges" were not spelled out, but the archdiocese has already said it would sell as many as 50 non-parish properties to cover its up to $373-million portion of a $660-million settlement with victims of molestation by priests.
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Thus far, the archdiocese has announced that it will sell its Wilshire Boulevard Archdiocesan Catholic Center (the chancery offices) and a small convent in Santa Barbara to help cover the settlement costs.
Daniel Murphy High School, located at Third and South Detroit streets in Los Angeles, was opened in 1926 as Los Angeles College, a junior seminary. In 1953, when the seminary moved to San Fernando, the site became a college preparatory school for young men, called St. John Vianney High School. Dominicans ran the school from 1956 to 1981, when it was taken over by the archdiocese. The original brick buildings (except for the chapel) were replaced by a new complex in 1966, and the school was renamed after Daniel Murphy, a Los Angeles businessman and philanthropist who gave substantial sums to the local Catholic Church. Murphy died in 1939.
In the news release, archdiocesan spokesman Tod Tamberg cited decreased enrollment as a major reason for the decision to close the high school. "Despite efforts to increase student enrollment over the past ten years, the student population has continued to decline, and is now down to 231 students," said Tamberg. "A further decline in enrollment would have resulted in the cutting back of the curriculum, negatively impacting the school's ability to offer a quality education to the students."
Parents and students received news of the impending closure of the school on Friday via a letter from the archdiocese. One parent, Rod Freer, told the Los Angeles Times that the news was a shock to parents and students alike. Freer said he hopes to organize parents to fight the decision.
Most Catholic schools, said Freer, are more expensive than Daniel Murphy, which charges a $5,100 yearly tuition. Tamberg, however, says that the archdiocese's "first priority will be to assist [teachers and students] in finding other Catholic high schools in the area in which to teach and learn," and that the archdiocese is establishing a fund to help students with financial need who wish to transfer. Other area Catholic high schools are Cathedral, Salesian, Verbum Dei, and Loyola high schools in Los Angeles and St. Bernard High in Playa Del Rey.
"Sometime in early 2008 discussions will begin about the various future options and alternative uses for the school property," said Tamberg.
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