June 28, 2019
Dear Families of SVDP Parish and School,
Your abundance of generosity at the Kentucky Derby Gala last month has kept me busy planning summer projects! Thank you, again, for your sacrifices and for the financial gifts that make this a very exciting summer for the school.
On May 23, 2019 the School Advisory Council (SAC) met to discuss the successes of the gala and to make consequent recommendations on how to use both the paddle raiser funds as well as the surplus-of-budget funds which accrued from the gala. In total, the gala revenue is calculated just above $540,000 – an almost startling success and a record year by far! Expenses were kept under $70,000, which makes $470,000 of the revenue available. Of that $230,400 is designated for the paddle raiser. (Find the 2019 proposed Paddle Raiser Projects here.)
A new, separate account has been set up to receive the gala funds, and it will continue to hold the designated paddle raiser funds until spent, as well as other restricted use funds.
Following were the SAC recommendations for the use of these monies, which have now been accepted by the Finance Council, and the projects approved by the Archdiocese Construction Management Office.
Paddle Raiser Projects:
- $45,000 Gym Ceiling – there are multiple options for this which have acoustic quality solutions: (1) scraping and replacing with our current kind of tile (note: these were tested for asbestos and found negative); (2) a spray-on acoustic ceiling; and (3) interlocking flat panels with vertically-hanging baffles, which could be monochromatic or in school colors. We continue to work with vendors trying to make the best decision, but responses have been slow in coming. While we hope that this will be completed before school starts, it may be a long shot at this point, and we don’t want to rush or force a bad decision. Stay tuned.
- $15,000 – The library enhancements are under way and will be mostly completed this summer. We’ve ordered and received all items that are quick and easy. We are now looking for the right circulation desk and then Mrs. Edmonds will spend quite a bit of time identifying new books to add to the collection, in part based on a student survey given toward the end of the school year.
- $170,400 – The balance of the paddle raiser is being applied to the upper playground renovation. We are able to reconfigure phase one – you have been more generous to the school than was at first imaginable, and we would like to be more generous in the response by giving more than first planned. The sports area will receive new basketball hoops with the replacement of one set of poles with lower nets for our younger students. The sports area will be re-striped, the gaga pit moved slightly, unused poles removed and the space generally freshened up. It is not being re-paved at this time. The swingset area will receive a new pour n’ play ground surface. This “stuff” is very expensive – probably more expensive than year-over-year costs for mulch replacement under swings and play sets, but it seems to be the preference of this community to use the rubberized surfacing. The biggest, and unexpected item, is that we have the funds to be able to replace the entire main play structure. Our current play structure is an excellent piece and in selecting new pieces, we are keeping many elements that are fundamental for play, but also for improving agility and upper body strength. As we narrowed down our choices to two sets of pieces that would meet all of our needs, the students had the final vote during the last week of school. Behold, the SOUNDBOX PLAYSET coming soon to the upper playground. It is scheduled to be completed over the summer, just days before the start of school. We hope that there will be no delays!
Surplus-of-Budget Funds:
- $125,000 to begin building the deferred maintenance fund – an annual required best practice from the Archdiocese which we are just now able to do, and also a common sense best practice for anyone trying to build for the future in a school building closing in on 100 years old!
- $85,000 (up to $100,000) to be used to rebuild the boiler in the school. A new boiler is nearly twice the cost, but we also have come to understand that a rebuild of our current boiler will have twice the lifespan than a new solution. (They just don’t make things like they used to). We have a bulky boiler, 60 years old, but recently made much more efficient by a thorough cleaning – so much so that the gas company inquired as to whether we were fudging our numbers. Our gas consumption was reduced by 25% after cleaning the current boiler. We are building for the future; we think that with proper maintenance, this is a 50 year lifespan rebuild.
- $29,600 into the piggy bank. The AoD best practice is that the organization have 6-months of operation/budget expenses held in savings. We have been wanting to begin this for several years and are thrilled to be able to begin saving for future needs.
The Gala Co-chairs, the Sustainability Committee, the School Advisory Committee Members, and the Finance Council Members have been invaluable this year in all of these processes, and especially in the current outcomes. The diligent work and the true collaboration of so many people have brought us to this point. I am overwhelmed by the generosity and goodness of our community. May we give thanks to God for His many blessings on us this year!
