At a meeting of parents held in the Saint Joseph High School Auditorium on June 6, Father Jerry E. Hardy, chancellor, read the following statement on behalf of the archdiocese:

As you know for almost two years we have been actively pursuing a relocation site for Saint Joseph High School.

From October 1972 to February 1973, the Planning and Development Committee of the school searched for sites. This committee recommended the 1330 W. Peachtree Building, which the Board of Education then judged to be inadequate for the school’s program.

In August 1973, the Board of Education recommended to the archbishop a site at Gordon and Ashby Streets. This was termed unacceptable by the Archdiocesan Property Commission because school construction costs plus land acquisition costs would be prohibitively high, requiring more of an investment than could be justified in the over-all picture of the Church’s pastoral programs here in North Georgia.

In September 1973, a local real estate firm was hired to do an exhaustive search according to the guidelines developed first by the school’s Planning and Development Committee and later ratified by the Board of Education. Those guidelines specified a central downtown location, accessible to all parts of the metro area, but particularly to the south side of the city.

A total of 30 sites were reviewed; this number was subsequently reduced to four; and, finally, all others were eliminated in favor of the Dillard Paper Co. building on Peters Street. In December 1973, this site was presented to the Saint Joseph Planning and Development Committee and the Board of Education, with both approving it as the relocation site to be sought.

With the building under option to be purchased, we secured an architect. Plans were drawn for remodeling, and cost estimates were obtained.

In March 1974, the Archdiocesan Finance Council began the final study of how to handle this large financial question.

Initial estimates of purchase and remodeling costs had stood at $1,600,000. The Committee completed its report and presented it to the archbishop just last week on May 28th. It indicated that: --construction costs had risen 20 per cent since our estimates were obtained and were predicted to rise 1 per cent per month until completion of the project, raising the total cost to approximately $2,100,000; --rates at which construction money could be borrowed had also risen sharply and we would have to borrow substantially. Payment for the Ivy Street property is to be received over a ten year period. After initial good faith down payments, only interest is received for the first five years. The initial commitment was to spend $1,600,000 on the project. Due to the need to borrow $2,100,000 and the increased cost of borrowing, that commitment would now cost $3,280,000 over a period of twelve years; -- to borrow money we must put up land as security. To borrow this amount of money would require more land than is available at present without seriously restricting future parish development for which similar borrowing and mortgage security will be required.

As a result of the study, the committee reported that the Dillard-Saint Joseph project was not financially feasible and recommended that the option to purchase it should not be exercised. Further it recommended that the school close in 1976.

After consultation with his pastoral and financial advisors, the archbishop has, with great reluctance, accepted this recommendation.

Accordingly, Saint Joseph High School will remain at its present site next year and, if enrollment permits, until June 1976 at which time it will close. Students presently in the class of 1976 will be guaranteed, as was guaranteed two years ago, graduation from a Catholic High School, either Saint Joseph’s as long as enrollment permits, or Saint Pius or possibly Marist. In the latter two cases, there would be a tuition difference which we will offset in direct aid.

This decision is made only after all the facts indicate that the pastoral good of the entire Church in North Georgia requires such a decision.

After the statement was read, there was discussion from the floor. Questions were directed to the speaker’s table. Present were Archbishop Donnellan; Father Richard A. Kieran, principal of Saint Joseph’s High School; Father Daniel J. O’Connor, Secretary for Education; Dr. Nicholas Castricone, chairman of the Archdiocesan Board of Education and Father Jerry Hardy.

The questions and comments reflected the disappointment of the parents, disagreement with the decision, and strong concern over alternatives.