St. John's School to remain open (04/20/03)

St. John's School to remain open

by Myron Martynetz

NEWARK, N.J. - The students of St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic School in Newark, N.J., were rejoicing on April 15 after receiving word that their school would remain open for the 2003-2004 school year, and beyond.

Each blackboard contained the chalk-written announcement that the school will remain open. The sense of relief and the enthusiasm of students, parents and teachers was palpable.

There was also a knowledge that much work will be needed in the future in order to maintain and develop the school.

The decision to keep the school open and continue its 63-year tradition of educating Ukrainian American youth was made at a special session of the Parish Council on the evening of April 14.

In January, the Parish Council had challenged the newly created Committee for the Development of St. John's School to raise $250,000 by April 15 in order to guarantee the viability of the school into the future. In the two and one half months since then the committee has raised over $180,000 with donations continuing to pour in. The donations were broad-based and reflected support both from within the parish and throughout the Ukrainian American community.

The Parish Council was also presented with a strategic plan for the continued growth of the school, which will include active alumni programs, concerts to publicize the school, open houses, recruitment via the Internet and a program for the continued enhancement of the St. John's curriculum. A survey is planned to identify potential students and their parents' needs and desires.

Members of the Parish Council appeared to be impressed with the solid effort and dedication of the committee and asked numerous questions regarding the financial aspects of the school. The situation was complicated by the fact that no students could be enrolled or registered for the upcoming year without a decision by the Parish Council to continue the schools' existence.

Prior to the Parish Council meeting, the development committee and the Rev. Bohdan Lukie, pastor, met for over two hours with Metropolitan-Archbishop Stefan Soroka to receive his guidance. Metropolitan Soroka stressed that all concerned should look at the matter realistically and free of emotional attachment. The metropolitan advised that the good of the school and the families enrolling their children must be at the forefront of any decision and that a realistic budget, based on a worst-case scenario must be in place.

Seeing the commitment of the group of parents and alumni, the leader of the Ukrainian Catholic Church in the United States gave his blessing to the continued success of the school.

The metropolitan was also advised of the potential of relocating the school to Whippany, where the local parish is in the process of planning and building a church and cultural center. He indicated that this would be a topic of discussion and evaluation in the coming year. In many ways, St. John's situation is reflective of other schools in the Archeparchy of Philadelphia, metropolitan Soroka acknowledged.

The Committee for the Development of St. John's School has agreed to take over the administration and operation of the school on a pro-tem basis, until such time as a fiduciary board can be created. By-laws and a constitution must be drafted and approved by the parish, the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy and the Newark Diocese of the Catholic Church, which oversees schools in the area.

Once this occurs, a school board will be set up to properly oversee the functioning of the school and lessen the burdens on the Rev. Lukie and parish trustees. Continued fund-raising, the search for new sources of funds, and the improvement of the curriculum will all be pursued by the development committee in its efforts to enrich the school for the future.

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