Rutland Catholic Schools

New Board and Working Committees Tackle Challenges

The Building and Grounds Committee has already completed a thorough inventory of both Mount St. Joseph and Christ the King, the Marketing and Development committee will have met twice this summer and are preparing a comprehensive marketing plan for the schools, and the other committees— Finance, Mission Effectiveness, and Planning and Policy—are all hard at work in their respective areas of responsibility to help both schools prosper and grow. While there is much that remains to be done, the new Rutland Catholic Schools board and committees are off to an enthusiastic start under the leadership of Board Chair Peter Giancola and new head of the Rutland Deanery, Father Justin Baker.

Building and Grounds Committee has had a busy summer, completing walk-throughs of both MSJ and CKS. High on the list of recommendations are energy management programs for the heating and ventilation systems as well as lighting energy conservation measures for both schools. The Committee is pursuing estimates for the lighting and the Friends of MSJ has approved monies for the heat control work at MSJ. Both of these projects will pay for themselves given the considerable savings resulting from the implementation of the recommendations.

The Finance Committee has met several times. Fuel oil purchases for both schools for this year as well as for the 2008-2009 year were a hot topic. At present the two schools contract individually for their respective fuel needs. However in the future, it is planned that RCS will negotiate a single contract for both MSJ and CKS and that the bids will be extended to all area fuel providers with the aim of obtaining the most attractive price and service. Additionally, it was reported that Cindy Robbins has successfully completed converting MSJ’s accounting over to the QuickBooks software.

Mission Effectiveness discussions have focused on efforts to restart a Deanery-wide Catholic youth ministry. It was noted that a number of area youth bible study groups include a number of Catholic youth. The Committee is now in the process of reviewing the current mission statements of both schools so that they can assess how effectively they are being accomplished. As part of that effort, the Committee will be interviewing both principals.

The Marketing and Development Committees are meeting together to facilitate the development of a common plan. Discussion have focused on assessing current efforts to keep both schools in the public presence and on how to best allocate the very limited advertising and marketing funds. Both schools’ web sites will play prominent roles in helping to keep communications open to all interested groups. The Rutland Catholic Schools newsletter will be another primary information tool. Efforts are currently underway to organize a group of volunteers to assist in the writing and distribution of regular press releases for MSJ, CKS, and RCS Several committees are in need of additional members and any help or expertise would be appreciated. Please contact Peter Giancola, RCS board president, if you would like to put your shoulder to the wheel and help us strengthen Catholic education in our area. Committee descriptions and contact information are available here on the website under the About section.