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Driscoll won seven consecutive football titles in Illinois and eight overall.
Perhaps the rumors of the death of Driscoll Catholic High School in Addison have been greatly exaggerated.
In a press release handed out shortly after a meeting with the Christian Brothers of the Midwest late Friday afternoon, a two-part mandate was suggested to Driscoll supporters that could alter plans for the shuttering of the 43-year-old school at the end of June. A copy of the press release is available here.
An organization called “Driscoll Next 43 Years Committee” stated in their release that if a “substantial and immediate influx of cash” could be collected and that if a “realistic, comprehensive plan to create a sustainable Driscoll for the future” could be implemented, the school might be saved.
Reportedly the Committee was able to raise $100,000 within the first 24 hours of the announcement of the school’s closing. The Chicago Tribune reported last week that Driscoll superintendent Thomas Geraghty said the school needed “about $325,000 more than it had on hand to stay open.”
“The money’s one thing. We were told that we needed $1 million by April 20,” said Dave Schwabe, director of development at Driscoll, a 1979 graduate and the school’s freshman football and basketball coach. “The other part is that we needed a long-term business plan that will be viable and can show how something like this wouldn’t happen again. We could have two, three, four million dollars, but if we don’t have a plan they can buy into it doesn’t make any difference.”
As of Tuesday morning, Schwabe said that approximately $146,000 had been raised “strictly through a grass roots effort.” Schwabe and other representatives of the committee, including chairman Gene Faut, have scheduled a town hall-type meeting at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday at the school to update interested parties. Faut helped engineer a similar grass roots effort to help stave off the potential closing of Notre Dame Catholic High School in Niles.
Brother Kevin Convey, director of education for Christian Brothers said he was aware that a large group of passionate Driscoll parents, alumni, students and faculty were preparing a new business plan to keep Driscoll open, but he had yet to hear anything more.
“The group (that met with him late Friday) was upset and angry, which we anticipated. But we can’t get away from the facts,” said Convey. “If the volume of people who showed up resolved the financial and enrollment issues, that would be a different story.
“It will take several million dollars and appropriate enrollment. If we are presented with a plan that is viable and realistic and not based on borrowed money, we’d certainly consider it.”
(The Christian Brothers of the Midwest) were very specific on saying that the money and the plan have to be OK’d,” said Schwabe. “You can have the money, but if they don’t like the plan, we’re done.
“The best part is that we at least have an opportunity. Friday at 5:30 we didn’t. We’re not foolish, we know we’ve got an uphill climb. But we believe in our heart of hearts that this can be pulled off. This has become a passion for a lot of people out there.”
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