Bishop Donald Kettler has convened a steering committee to design a single Catholic school system for the St. Cloud metro area and surrounding communities. The 12-member committee meets every other week to discuss various aspects of creating the new system. The committee is focused on strengthening, not closing, Catholic schools. In order to keep the public apprised of its work and address general questions people may have, the group will provide regular updates in The Visitor and on the diocesan website (www.stclouddiocese.org; click on “St. Cloud-area Catholic schools initiative.”) The following is a brief summary of the committee’s April 17 meeting.
- Feedback received by the committee since its last meeting included four emails: two with general comments about the initiative, and two with specific ideas about classroom usage and curriculum that will be addressed at a later time. Committee representatives will respond with letters, as appropriate, to the senders.
- The committee discussed a timeline for the next 12 to 15 meetings to address topics related to governance structures, communications and finances, including the formation of a finance task force to include members from the wider community.
- The committee began discussion on a working draft of a mission statement for the new school system.
Representatives from the steering committee will begin meeting next month with the boards of Catholic schools that have been invited to be part of the new system. The purpose of the meetings is to provide an update on the initiative and answer any questions.
Feedback and next meeting
- Questions or comments? What would you like the new Catholic school system to look like? Email: CatholicSchoolsSC@gmail.com.
- Next meeting: May 1.