NOTRE DAME WILL REMAIN A CATHOLIC HIGH SHOOL

Whether Notre Dame High School expands or a new facility is built, the high school will remain strictly Catholic, Bishop John Leibrecht said Monday.

The bishop said some change is on the way, probably within two years.

He was in Cape Girardeau to celebrate mass with students from Notre Dame, St. Vincent de Paul and St. Mary schools.

"We know the status quo will not remain," Leibrecht said regarding the Catholic high school.

"The one thing I can be very, very clear on is it will be a Catholic high school," Leibrecht said. "That is one thing that got settled very quickly."

At one point in the discussion, the Notre Dame Long Range Planning Committee considered a high school structured as a non-denominational Christian facility.

"We welcome students from other private schools or churches, but they will know they are coming to a Catholic high school," he said.

Leibrecht said the need for change is prompted by increasing enrollment.

"Enrollment at Notre Dame is definitely going to be increasing," Leibrecht said. He said two possibilities are being investigated: expanding the current Notre Dame High School building or constructing a new campus. "We will do one of those two things," he said.

"We are looking to the future, trying to accommodate additional students now and through probably the year 2000," Leibrecht said.

"We've got a lead time of a year or two. Increased enrollment could still be handled in this building for that amount of time, but we can't go much beyond that."

Leibrecht said a number of committees are working now, studying possible sites and curriculum and projecting operating costs.

The bishop said he has heard recommendations from several individuals in Cape Girardeau about the best solution. "But we have made no decisions."

If a new high school is built, the existing building could be turned into a middle school for sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders.

"The middle school is a possibility," Leibrecht said. "But I have said don't limit yourself. Look at other possible uses for this buildings, not just for the Catholic community but also for the whole community."

Cape Girardeau is not alone in this high school space dilemma. Similar studies are under way in both Joplin and Springfield.

The problem is that Catholic school enrollment across the diocese is on the rise.

"This is one of the nicest problems a bishop can have," he said. "I was at St. Augustine (in Kelso) this morning and the pastor there was telling me that enrollment in the lower grades is larger than the upper grades. He was talking about where he was going to put all those students."

Many of those students continue to Catholic high school.

"I believe the moral values we are able to teach in Catholic schools are really needed," Leibrecht said. "Our graduates are sought after as workers. Colleges know they will get a serious student after high school. Parents are looking to offer their kids something they can hold on to, a direction in life."