THE SECOND YEAR AT WARNERS

Fr. Pfeiffer's Letter to Friends and Benefactors

Dear Friend,

The only way to really appreciate the great good that can be done on our new campus in Warners NY is by a personal visit. Being here in the person, admiring the 44.76 acre property, and personally walking through 50,000 square feet of School building makes our every benefactor swell with honest pride at being part of something that holds so much promise for the immediate and long range future.

If Catholic history is any indicator of solid Catholic principles, right before your eyes you can see the unfolding of a principle that gradually transformed the Western world from 5th – 11th centuries. During that time, monasteries were multiplied and these monasteries both drew men in and sent men out. The monks drew in those who would join their ranks as well as those who came for moral improvement or advice. It sent men out in the way of missionaries like St. Patrick or statesmen like St. Louis. Monasteries, and the contemplative life they contained, were the fulcrum point of the schools, hospitals and parish churches from which many of today’s European towns sprang.

Here at Warners something similar is happening. Firstly, like the monasteries of old, Warners draws in good families. Since purchasing the Warners School in summer of 2007, 7 families have either moved into the Syracuse area or have re-located within the area to get closer to the School. Meanwhile, 3 or 4 more families are working hard to prepare for their future move. Secondly, like any school, BVM is sending her students out to make their living in the world and their impact in society. The Truth gained in the Catholic School gradually transforms the learner, his activities, and ultimately his social environment. We will soon see new families and new vocations from our BVM seniors.

Seeing it all happen and observing the daily sacrifices necessary to the nitty-gritty of this Catholicizing process makes one realize that it is worth the toil and trouble to keep it all going. The $513,000 of purchase price has already been outweighed by the current value of a property and building worth over 10 million in today’s dollars. Every day we take full advantage of this beautiful property while the potential for future material and demographic growth is merely waiting to be activated.

HARD FACTS:

However, growth – especially the sort that holds great promise for the future – comes with its costs. The transition from the Wilkinson Street Campus to Warners brought a drastic change in the operating budget. The last year of BVM at the old campus for the 06-07 scholastic year saw an annual operating budget of $290,000. Last year - the first at Warners –sported a budget of $564,000. The current scholastic year will bring another increase of approximately $56,000 so that we expect to have an annual 08-09 operating budget of $620,000. The dramatic jump in operating costs came from the fact that the physical plant increased by 5 times while the campus increased by over 40 times the size. Essentially, we more than quintupled the physical plant for double the operating costs.

THE ARMY OF FINANCIAL SUPPORTERS

The key to the success of the Catholic education system in by-gone times was the straight-forward sacrifice of teaching religious. Today, instead of the army of nuns, teaching brothers and priests, we have a handful of priests and an army of lay-teachers. While our lay-teachers do indeed have the spirit of sacrifice as witnessed by their very low salaries, they still have to put food on their table and gas in their cars. So the only way we can continue to succeed is to spread the sacrifice out among the army of our faithful friends and benefactors. You are the army of sacrifice that makes any Catholic school possible, and especially your very own BVM Academy. We are counting on you to help us. In return, our students form a growing family that is bonded to you in the debt of gratitude.

For this, you, as ever, are part of our family and a living helper assisting us in carrying on our important function of preparing the future generations of Catholics. We thank you for your support and we promise you our prayers.

In Our Lord,

Fr. J. Timothy Pfeiffer